Objective of the study was to associate two topical problems of modern sports - features of career development in elite sports and the use of synergetics - to analyze social phenomena in sports. Methods and structure of the study. The methods applied during the study were the theoretical analysis of scientific thesis researches and publications devoted to the problems of sports career. Study results and conclusions. It is shown that one of the causes of sports career crises is a self-organizing restructuring of the structure of motives for sports activities. The most important motives for sports career development are the passionate, pragmatic, creative and health appeal. In moments of crises, there is a synergetic, i.e., a sharp and unpredictable change in the balance of motives. As a result, there appear bifurcations of the nature of activity. The authors conclude that the sports career management model can be implemented through the use of the synergetic mechanisms. In particular, a stepwise process of success achievement is possible under a number of conditions: if the amount of training efforts exceeds the critical "progress" value and does not exceed the critical "failure" value; if coach's credibility does not disappear suddenly; if the outside support - that of the society and family - is strong enough; if there is a necessary psychological work. The study of the synergetic features of sports phenomena is still in its infancy. However, a chain of recent sports events, in particular in Russian figure skating, football and biathlon, can be interpreted as synergistic transformations. The authors are planning to continue working in this direction.