League Manager (Chicago, IL)

Brodie Sports Group; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 60,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Uncapped commission

Paid Time Off (3 weeks + Holiday Shut 

Paid Sick Leave

Job summary

Brodie League in Chicago, IL is seeking a League Manager to run a location end to end, from game night operations to payroll and scheduling. You will own the room on game nights and be responsible for crew discipline and brand standards, while managing the rest of the week behind the scenes.

You will lead a Game Day Lead, drive athlete experience and retention, grow the league in collaboration with the City Launcher, and report to a District Manager.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of people leadership in hospitality, sports, or events.
• Own recurring program or location with system-driven operations.
• Strong in gym and community presence; capable of managing staff.
• Full-time availability for game nights and related hours.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop Game Day Lead and crew; hire, brief, and coach staff.
• Manage game night to Brodie Standard; coordinate launches, disputes, reporting.
• Own athlete experience; engage captains, players, spectators, and drop-ins.
• Schedule season, playoffs, roster management, jerseys, and facility needs.

Skills

People leadership

Team management

Communication

Sales outreach

Organizational skills

Tools

CRM

Rippling

PlayerOne

Slack

Payroll software

Job description

League Manager

Type: Full-time

Location: Chicago, IL

Salary: $60,000–$80,000 USD Annually + Bonus + Commission

Reports To: District Manager

Company Overview

50,000 athletes. 30+ locations. Millions of views.

Brodie League is more than a basketball league, it’s a community. As one of North America’s fastest-growing sports brands, Brodie League is redefining adult recreational basketball by delivering an elevated, professional-quality experience rooted in culture, competition, and community. Our mission is to make every league night the best night of the week for our athletes.

Role Overview

The League Manager runs a Brodie location end to end. On game night, you own the room: captains, players, fans, spectators and drop-in players. You're accountable for the crew and for every game starting on time, on brand and to the Brodie Standard. The rest of the week, you own the work nobody sees: payroll, scheduling, league health, captain communication, and partner on the outreach that fills your gym and keeps it full. You report to a District Manager, who owns your region end to end, and you lead a Game Day Lead (GDL) who runs the floor on game night. In new or smaller markets you work in partnership with a City Launcher to grow the league while you run it. The people who thrive here have run a team before, hold a standard without being asked, and are the person athletes look for when they walk through the door. Every athlete who laces up is choosing Brodie over everything else they could be doing. You make that choice feel worth it, every single week.

You make sure every athlete leaves feeling the night was built for them. Ready to make it happen? Read on!

Core Responsibilities

Game night & crew

• Own your crew and develop your GDL. Schedule, hire, brief and develop your Game Day Lead and every Game Day Operator, Referee, Athlete Highlight Specialist and media staffer on your nights, typically 5-20 people depending on the venue. Your GDL leads the crew on the floor. You're accountable for them: you set the standard, coach your GDL, and make every performance and discipline call, bringing your GDL into each one so they learn how it's done.
• Run game night to the Brodie Standard. Run the pre-game Launch Meeting, make the forfeit call when a team doesn't show (your GDL makes it when you're off site), settle the disputes your GDL escalates to you, and submit reporting within 4 hours of the final game. Your GDL sets the gym, keeps every court streaming and runs the floor. You make sure the night meets the Brodie Standard.

Athlete experience & growth

• Own the athlete experience. Greet every captain, work the room between games, and talk to spectators and drop-in players about joining a team. Share check-in with your GDL through the night, and check in and introduce every drop-in player yourself. Own the drop-ins, open runs and events at your location: the players, the experience and turning them into teams. Answer every player and captain message within 24 hours and follow up on every complaint within 48.
• Hit your retention and growth targets. You carry clear, measurable retention targets: re-signing returning teams, converting drop-in players and spectators on the floor, driving referrals and ambassador teams, and managing your ambassadors. In new or smaller markets, your performance is weighted more heavily toward growth, and you work in partnership with the City Launcher to bring new teams in and make sure every one of them wants to come back. Personally reach out to captains, lapsed teams and your own network, and log every touch in the CRM.

Season operations & admin

• Build and run the season. Schedule the regular season, playoffs and all-star in PlayerOne; place and balance divisions; onboard captains; roster free agents; and manage jerseys, equipment and court bookings so nothing is ever last-minute.
• Own the admin nobody sees. Review and approve staff timesheets and payroll in Rippling accurately and on time, keep stats and standings correct, and make sure every overdue balance is settled before athletes play. Your GDL handles overdue balances on game night and escalates them to you when they aren't an easy fix. Roughly half your week is this work, and it matters as much as game night.

Ownership & building the location

• Run your week without being chased. On non-game days you work independently. Keep your work visible to your District Manager through the CRM, the Season Success Checklist and weekly check-ins, and raise it early, with a plan, when registrations or a night are off track.
• Build a location that runs without you. Partner with your District Manager to hire, train and develop your crew and your GDL. Build the checklists and handoffs that let your GDL run a night on your standard when you're not in the room, develop them into your next League Manager, and push for more capacity when your location sells out.

Requirements

• 3+ years leading people. You have hired, scheduled, corrected and developed a team of 3 or more in restaurants, hospitality, retail, fitness, events or sports operations. You have held others to a standard, not just met one yourself, and you talk about what your team did, not only what you did.
• Proven ownership of something recurring. A weekly shift, a location, a program or a season that ran on systems rather than your memory. When it went wrong, you owned your part and changed something so it did not happen again. Experience reviewing and impacting a Profit and Loss statement.
• You have the warmth and presence that makes a gym full of athletes feel welcomed and remembered. People leadership is the requirement; presence in the gym is what sets the best apart.
• A real relationship with basketball and your local community. You have played, coached, refereed, organized or captained.
• Fully committed to a full-time role. This is a full-time position and your only job. You are available every game night at your location (roughly 6pm to midnight, including weekends), reachable and working roughly 9am to 5pm on non-game weekdays, and on game nights you are working the league, not playing in it.
• Local and on site. You live in or near the market you run, work on site at your assigned Brodie venue(s) every game night, with reliable transportation to move brand fixtures and equipment, and you join your District Manager and the team at HQ for training and check-ins as required.
• Comfortable selling and following up. You are energized by outreach, can turn a verbal "we're in" into a paid registration, and treat logging your activity as part of the job, not bureaucracy. You adopt new tools (PlayerOne, Rippling, Slack) quickly.

Strongly preferred:

• Experience developing a supervisor or shift lead into a leader.
• Having played in a Brodie league, or knowing it well as an athlete.
• A network in the local basketball or rec sports scene.
• Experience with a CRM, payroll, timesheets or scheduling tools.

Compensation Disclosure

The expected annual compensation range for this role is between $60,000 and $80,000 USD. Compensation is based on skills, experience, qualifications, internal equity, and business needs. Additional compensation also includes a bonus (up to $5,000/season) and uncapped commission structure. The compensation range may be adjusted in the future.

WHY JOIN BRODIE LEAGUE

• Highly competitive pay and uncapped commission
• Growth & mentorship opportunities
• Professional development budget
• Paid Time Off (3 weeks + Holiday Shutdown)
• Paid Sick Leave
• Play Brodie League for free
• Opportunity to work for an organization at the intersection of sports, fashion, & tech

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DISCLOSURE

Artificial intelligence may be used in the recruitment and selection process, including to screen, assess, or evaluate applicants.

POSITION STATUS

an existing vacancy at Brodie League

This posting will remain active until we have selected and onboarded the ideal candidate.

COMMITMENT TO INCLUSION

We know through experience that different ideas, perspectives, and backgrounds foster stronger and more creative teams. We strive to create organizations that reflect the communities we serve and where everyone feels empowered to bring their full, authentic selves to Brodie Rec Leagues.

Compensation Range: $60K - $80K