Have you really not heard of Colin Kaepernick?

I watch the NFL and sometimes the NBA for the game, period. I don't care what they eat, who they're dating, or what their political views are or their opinion of god is. I watch Tom Cruise movies because they're entertaining. I vote on the issues. I like Dylan music because it used to be great. When I consume content about god or lack thereof, I listen to and read stuff by Carrier, Hitchens, et al. I don't CARE what Athlete A thinks about god.
That said, if I was an atheist baseball player I'd want to be able to concentrate on hitting home runs or pitching shutouts and not attract a circus. I'm sorry, but the Christian Thought Police are still way too powerful to invite their wrath. It's about facing, recognizing, and bowing to reality. A true agnostic and/or atheist is too smart and pragmatic to do otherwise.
Just my humble opinion.

So, another perspective on this, a good book that looks at some of the underlying beliefs and values that make people liberal or conservative - The Righteous Mind. Among the values discussed, “team” loyalty (in-group preference), fairness and respect for authority are buttons pushed more by conservatives. They are also values strongly emphasized by sports.

Athletes don't have to think a lot. Just do it.

Yes this line of thinking is wrong. There could be a selection bias in the news. Also the sample size is surely not big enough to come to such a general conclusion. I'm sure there are surveys that give you a better picture.

Just guessing...I would say that not many athletes are non-believers. How many intellectuals become athletes?

Oh goody, another generalization about a group of very disparate people with only one thing in common (athletic prowess)
I just loooove generalizations & labels! You too, huh?

I don't think that would be accurate. I think it would be just like society and it would be a mix.

To be an atheist, you have to be a logical thinker. And logical thinkers are most likely to be progressive or liberal. I suppose it's likely that athletes who get concussions may lose some thinking ability and become conservatives.

It would not be "fair" to say that. Your line of thinking IS wrong.
Athletes are no different than the rest of the population.

Some may appear to be more conservative than others because a) that might actually be their personal position, or,
b) they might be acting that way because of who owns whatever team they're playing for, OR
c) they may be reflecting the pervasive attitudes of the markets they're playing in.

Sometimes, people will take on the positions of their employers, for any of a number of reasons.
There are people who have no problem assimilating to accommodate whatever
the majority mindset is.

Speaking from the UK, I am amazed that you know whether or not athletes have religious beliefs and progressive ideas or not! Unless a particular athlete or political party particularly wants to announce her/his beliefs for a particular reason we would never know - it simply doesn't come up. When it does happen, as in the case of a homophobic rugby player who was dropped by Australia recently, it is so unusual that it was big news.

I think it would be more likely that the correlation is instead to wealth. Could it be that these conservative athletes are wealthy, and just looking after their own self-interest?

I think if you include amateur athletes you’ll find a lot of liberals. Those professional players raking in millions are not likely to advocate higher taxes and government meddling in business.

Socially or fiscally progressive? I believe you become an atheist or agnostic because you do not want to be socially conservative any longer. What issue you are progressive about will differ from person to person.

Given how many athletes in the big three major sports are Black (football and basketball) or Hispanic (baseball), I would guess quite a few of those players vote Democrat.

I watch English premier league football regularly and more than a few cross themselves when going on to the pitch. Of course many are from Roman catholic countries in Europe and South America so it is probably just a habit. As for being conservative or liberal, they are grossly overpaid so it is likely that they lean to the right as wealth and conservatism tend to go together.

My questioning is based on the fact that a lot of the sports players/coaches/investors/team owners are usually conservative...Fran Tarkenten, Mike tyson, Dwayne Johnson, Arnold Schwarzenegger etc...

Really? Therefore, under your unsubstantiated assertion it would mean then that athletes like Colin Kaepernick, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, etc are all conservative?

My experience with athletes, from my Jr. High and High School days is that they are on the lower end of the intelligence scale, bigoted, bullies, and very anti-LGBT+. I've met one or two that don't fit this profile. In college the athletes knew which teacher's were in the pocket of the athletics department so that they wouldn't need to learn anything to get a passing grade. From this experience I've learned that athletes are some of the lowest forms of human life.

as a golfer of 50+ yrs i've closely followed the top pro golfers (those that win & are interviewed) for many decades.
starting about 20 yrs ago there were some golfers that won tournaments & when they were interviewed, the 1st thing they did was thank the lord for letting them win. over the yrs it seemed that fewer of those religious nut cases won tournaments. i haven't heard a pro golfer thank the lord for his win for many yrs.
i always wondered how those golfers that the lord helped win could handle the losses, especially when there is a considerable element of luck in golf.
how many of those idiots must have thought that the lord abandoned them when they no longer could win. when that thought entered their minds they would have been totally fcked.