In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, basketball, rugby, baseball, softball, ice hockey, and water polo.
The term has gained prominence in all sports due to its use in fantasy leagues, but in rugby union and rugby league, it is commonly used by commentators to recognize a player's versatility.
The use of this term to describe a player may in some circumstances be a backhanded compliment, as it suggests the player is not good enough to be considered a specialist in one position (i.e., a jack of all trades).
Association football
In association football, like other sports, a utility player can play in several positions in the outfield, typically performing effectively in multiple roles without a significant drop in performance.
Nowadays, most outfield players, especially midfielders, at the professional level can play multiple positions. The most common dual role is when a central defender is played in the left or right full-back position. This often occurs due to injuries to starting full-backs. As central defenders are usually taller, slower, and less technically adept in crossing and attacking play, such a change in position is often accompanied by a tactical shift designed to ensure the player remains in a more defensive posture than regular full-backs would be in. Another common dual role is for faster attacking players to be used as a forward, winger, or a combination of the two roles, known as a "wing-forward".
Examples include Frenchman Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid, a midfielder who can also function as a left-sided full-back or winger; Spaniard Sergi Roberto, who played in seven different positions, including full-back, centre-back, midfielder and winger, at Barcelona between 2016 and 2018; and Phil Jones, who has been used as a right-back and centre-back while also taking up occasional midfield roles at Manchester United. Another defender, Bjørn Paulsen from Denmark, is also adept on the wing or in the centre of midfield and has also successfully taken the role of striker, especially when his teams were losing. James Milner, who made over 200 league appearances for Liverpool, has played in central midfield, full-back, winger and even striker.
Ivaylo Yordanov, Lee McCulloch, Magnus Erlingmark and especially Ruud Gullit had played in many outfield roles, with the Dutchman in particular having the ability to change positions within a single game to fill in gaps caused by substitutions. Former Irish international John O'Shea is known for playing in all positions in his tenure with Manchester United. Some footballers even further back in time had also had a high degree of versatility: Bill Lacey, who played his top-flight football with Everton and Liverpool during the pre-war and inter-war periods, played in all eleven traditional positions (10 outfield plus goalkeeper) in his career; John Charles, a legendary figure both in his native Wales and Juventus of Italy, was both a striker and centre-back in his playing days; and 1966 FIFA World Cup winner Martin Peters, who played in every position, including goalkeeper in particularly dire situations, for West Ham United.
In the women's game, notable examples are China's Wang Shanshan and the United States' Crystal Dunn, as well as Germans Simone Laudehr and Linda Bresonik.
Some outfield players have also made competent substitute goalkeepers, for example Phil Jagielka, Jan Koller (originally trained as a goalkeeper before converting into a striker) and Cosmin Moți. But in the case of goalkeepers playing as outfield players, it is extremely rare; David James for Manchester City in 2005 match against Middlesbrough for one instance. Some may be free kick and penalty specialists (Rogério Ceni, José Luis Chilavert, etc.), but they do not hold a proper outfield role.
Baseball
In baseball, a utility player is a player who can play several different positions. The term has traditionally been connotative of bench players, particularly players valued primarily for defense. Ben Zobrist has been described as the first "super utility player," as he played a large share of positions well and also remained a consistent contributor as a hitter . He played eight different positions in 2009, primarily at second base, right field, and shortstop, and slashed .297/.405/.543 for a 149 OPS+.
A "two-way player" is both a pitcher and position player. It is rare that a player can have the talent to play both roles at the top professional levels of baseball worldwide. Babe Ruth began his career as a pitcher but proved to be such a strong hitter that he briefly alternated in the two roles until becoming a full-time position player. A current example is Shohei Ohtani, who made the Best Nine of Japan's Pacific League as both a pitcher and a hitter in 2016, and is a designated hitter and starting pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers and formerly played both roles for the Los Angeles Angels.
Basketball
The term "utility player" is rarely used in basketball outside of fantasy basketball leagues. Instead; basketball uses the terms tweener and swingman to refer to a player who can play two or three different positions, with more specific terms being combo guard, point forward, forward-center, and stretch four.
American football In American football, the utility player is often capable of playing multiple positions, and often they may play both offense and defense. The concept was far more common in the early days of football, when pro teams used their best athletes in as many ways as possible, and substitutions were far more restricted, meaning players had to stay on the field for offense, defense, and "special teams". This was known as the one-platoon system.
The triple threat man, who could run, pass, and kick, was particularly popular during the early days of football from the time the forward pass was invented to the World War II era (see, for instance, Bradbury Robinson, Tommy Hughitt, Sammy Baugh, and, during his college years, Johnny Unitas). Most levels of football lifted the substitution restrictions during the post-World War II era in the late 1940s, beginning with "platooning" (use of different offensive and defensive units) and eventually transitioning to complete free substitution. Chuck Bednarik, a center and linebacker, was the last full-time two way player in the NFL, having retired in 1962. Travis Hunter will be the first to attempt to play offense and defense regularly since Bednarik after he was drafted as both a cornerback and wide receiver by the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2025.
The American Football League of the 1960s frequently used players at multiple positions, particularly kickers and punters (e.g. George Blanda, Paul Maguire, Cookie Gilchrist, Gino Cappelletti, and Gene Mingo, a running back who became the first black placekicker in modern professional football, among others). Because of increased injury risk awareness, since the AFL-NFL merger these types of players are increasingly rare, and true utility players usually end up specializing in one position (for example, Lane Johnson played quarterback, tight end, defensive end and offensive tackle through college but was tagged specifically at offensive tackle when drafted into the NFL, and Lorenzo Alexander, who earned a reputation as a "one-man gang" for his ability to play multiple positions, had settled in as a linebacker for most of his career in the NFL). Those that do play multiple positions for any extended period of time are mostly backups (e.g. Guido Merkens and Brad Smith) or career minor-league players (e.g. Don Jonas, Eric Crouch, and Charles Puleri). It is still very common in smaller high schools to see top players play two or even three ways (offense, defense, and special teams), in multiple positions, but in college and pro ball, where rosters are larger and the talent pool is more elite, the injury risk outweighs potential benefits.
In the National Football League, former coach Bill Belichick frequently used utility players during his time with the New England Patriots. Belichick had used his linebackers, including Bryan Cox and Mike Vrabel, as H-backs on offense, and Belichick doubled his wide receivers (e.g. Troy Brown and Randy Moss) as cornerbacks and safeties. Former Arizona Cardinals and Houston Texans defensive end J. J. Watt had also been utilized in multiple positions. Watt lined up at tight end in special goal-line packages in 2014, catching three touchdown passes. The 6' 5" Watt played tight end in high school and his first year of college at Central Michigan before becoming a full-time defensive player. Likewise, Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams played sparingly as a fullback in the last two years of his career, catching a pass, rushing for a touchdown, and blocking for another. William "The Refrigerator" Perry, a defensive tackle for the Chicago Bears, famously played as a fullback to score a touchdown in Super Bowl XX.
The tackle eligible is a special form of utility player. Examples of those who used this play notably include Jason Peters, Warren Sapp, Jumbo Elliott, Mitch Frerotte, Anthony Muñoz, Joe Staley, and Donald Penn. In such a situation, a player who is lined up in the offensive tackle position is eligible to catch a forward pass. Another example of a type of utility player is the halfback option play, in which a running back performs the passing duties of a quarterback. Walter Payton, LaDainian Tomlinson, and, most recently, Derrick Henry have used this play multiple times, and this type of play has spawned an entire offensive scheme. Generally, a player who plays one regular position as well as special teams is usually not considered a utility player, nor are hybrid running back/wide receivers such as Reggie Bush. Only those who play two distinct offensive and/or defensive positions are considered such, as are those who play an offensive or defensive position and in addition kick or punt.
The "offense/offensive weapon" (also known as OW) is an offensive player that can play multiple offensive positions. The OW role contains, but is not limited to, players that can play quarterback, running back, tight end, and wide receiver. Kordell Stewart was the first player to be used in this role back in the 1990s, but it became popular in the early 2010s.Back when Stewart played this role, it was known as the "Slash" role. The Jacksonville Jaguars' OW Denard Robinson was the first to be officially an OW. Recent examples of the OW position include former New York Giants quarterback Joe Webb, Atlanta Falcons running back Cordarrelle Patterson, and New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill. Webb has also played wide receiver throughout his career, while Hill has lined up at every offensive position with the exception of offensive lineman. Hill also plays special teams as a gunner and kick returner.
The Arena Football League often used ironman players on both sides of the ball with some exceptions that allowed specialist quarterbacks, kickers, wide receivers and defensive backs play both sides of the ball. The league returned to the full use of specialists in 2007. The now-defunct NFL Europe used specialists in the same fashion as the NFL itself.
At lower levels of the sport, especially those outside the American high school and college system, it is common for teams to not have enough players to field offensive & defensive specialist groups. In this case the players will rotate between offense, defense, and special teams. Players with particular talent or athleticism may take part in as many snaps as possible to give their team a better chance of winning.
Ice hockey