Manager, Athlete Partnerships - Athlete Marketing

Job Description

As the Manager of Athlete Partnerships - Athlete Marketing, you will play a pivotal role in developing and executing athlete marketing strategies to enhance our brand presence in the collectibles market. Reporting directly to the Director of Athlete Partnerships - Athlete Marketing, you will be responsible for cultivating and managing relationships with athletes (and their teams), leveraging your understanding of the sports and collectable industries to ideate on go to market opportunities, build/grow relationships with cross functional teammates, and oversee the implementation of cross channel marketing campaigns.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Director of Athlete Marketing and various Athlete Partnership sport leads to define and execute the athlete marketing strategy aligned with company goals.
• Identify, communicate, and manage partnerships with athletes and sports influencers to amplify marketing campaigns and brand visibility.
• Develop and maintain strong relationships with athletes (and their teams), ensuring alignment with brand values and objectives.
• Set up tracking systems to plan execute large-scale product launches across various social media platforms
• Effectively execute social media requests with both agents and internal teams, ensuring communications strategies are sound, coherent, and effective
• Manage complex agent relationships and proactively identify ways to improve operating procedures
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including brand/product marketing, pr, social/digital and creative, to ensure seamless execution of campaigns.
• Track and analyze the performance of athlete marketing initiatives, providing insights and recommendations for optimization.

Experience Needed

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, sports management, business, or a related field; Master's degree is a plus.
• 5-7 years of experience in athlete partnerships, with a proven track record of successful partnerships.
• Agency experience within client representation, client services and/or athlete marketing strongly preferred
• Deep knowledge of social media strategy and execution across owned and athlete channels.
• Strong understanding of the collectibles and trading card market strongly preferred
• Passion for sports, entertainment, and the unique role athletes play in the ecosystem preferred
• Excellent organizational and communication skills.
• Creative thinker with the ability to develop unique and engaging marketing campaigns.
• Strong communication skills across various marketing concepts and strategies
• Proven ability to collaborate with internal and external stakeholders.

In Los Angeles, the salary range for this position is $100,000 - $130,000, which represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. In New York City, the salary range is $110,000 - $140,000. These salary ranges are specific to Los Angeles or NYC and may not be applicable to other locations. When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training.

Fanatics is building a leading global digital sports platform. We ignite the passions of global sports fans and maximize the presence and reach for our hundreds of sports partners globally by offering products and services across Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, and Fanatics Betting & Gaming, allowing sports fans to Buy, Collect, and Bet. Through the Fanatics platform, sports fans can buy licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle and streetwear products, headwear, and hardgoods; collect physical and digital trading cards, sports memorabilia, and other digital assets; and bet as the company builds its Sportsbook and iGaming platform. Fanatics has an established database of over 100 million global sports fans; a global partner network with approximately 900 sports properties, including major national and international professional sports leagues, players associations, teams, colleges, college conferences and retail partners, 2,500 athletes and celebrities, and 200 exclusive athletes; and over 2,000 retail locations, including its Lids retail stores. Our more than 22,000 employees are committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience and delighting sports fans globally. 

Fanatics Collectibles is a new model and vision for the hobby, fundamentally changing the experience for current and future collectors, leagues, and players across many U.S. and international professional and college sports. The organization has long-term, exclusive rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards for several sports and entertainment properties, including MLB, MLBPA, the Premier League, MLS, UFC, Formula 1 as well as Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars, among others. In January 2022, Fanatics Collectibles announced the acquisition of Topps, establishing the preeminent licensed trading card brand as the cornerstone of Fanatics’ trading cards and collectibles business, and jumpstarted its MLB and MLBPA rights to design, manufacture and distribute trading cards