Planner, Athlete Partnerships- NIL/MLS

Fanatics; New York (NY); On-site; USD 70,000 - 80,000; Full time

Job summary

Fanatics Inc. in New York City is seeking a NIL/MLS Athlete Partnerships Planner to manage autograph procurement, payments, and signing scheduling with athletes, agents, and vendors.

You will collaborate with Accounts Payable, Finance, Social, and Athlete Marketing to ensure timely fulfillments and contract compliance. You will coordinate shipments of autographs and stickers, maintain databases, and liaise with multiple internal teams and Topps representatives to deliver on partnerships while

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Strong organization and attention to detail in a fast-paced environment.
• Willingness to travel and work late hours/weekends if needed.

Responsibilities

• Manage autograph procurement and scheduling with talent, agents, and vendors.
• Coordinate payments and autographs across internal teams and Topps reps.
• Maintain autograph databases and track contract obligations.
• Oversee vendor onboarding and purchase orders from creation to payment.
• Ensure timely sticker/card signings and event support.

Skills

Exceptional communication

Organized

Detail-oriented

Travel availability

Education

Bachelor's degree

Interest in sports/entertainment

Tools

Oracle

Microsoft

Slack

Airtable

Job description

About Us

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.

About Us

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.

About The Company

Fanatics Collectibles is a new company operating at the intersection of collectibles, culture, and technology. Backed by world-class investors, operators, and sports & entertainment partners, we are building the global leader in next-generation collectibles. As part of the broader Fanatics ecosystem, we leverage a digital sports platform that spans over 900 sports properties and engages more than 81 million fans. Together, we are reimagining every part of the collectibles experience for fans, partners, and creators.

Role Summary

The NIL/MLS Athlete Partnerships Planner is responsible for autograph procurement, relationship maintaining, athlete payments and signing scheduling. This person will need to coordinate between talent/agent/rep and outside vendors to gather all needed information per player within a given timeline. The role will require collaboration with internal teams including Accounts Payable, Finance, Social, Athlete Marketing as well as daily correspondence with external agencies, third parties and Topps representatives. The role will also involve coordination and shipments of stickers/card signings, managing relationships with players, agents, families and other reps. Planner side of this job will include making sure all deal obligations are met, autograph procurement, athlete payments and maintaining timelines, while making sure our athletes feel a part of the Fanatics family.

Responsibilities

• Manage relationships with players, families, agents, school partners, marketing representatives and third parties.
• Making sure all sticker and card signing deadlines are met and obligations of deals are taken care of.
• Helping with certain NIL/MLS events and partnership tasks related to schools/universities/clubs.
• Agent outreach and research on new NIL/MLS initiatives and key factors in the evolving landscape of the business.
• Create new suppliers, auto ids and manage purchase orders from creation to completion of payments.
• Work closely with Accounts Payable to ensure athlete documents, supplier addresses and payment information are up to date and current in the system.
• Ensure Airtable is up to date with athlete autograph status, supplier and purchase order information as well as linking completed autographs to an athlete’s PO in the proper database.
• Act as liaison to multiple internal departments including Finance, Social, Athlete Marketing NIL & MLS Team, to implement fulfillment of contract requirements/payments.
• Maintain overarching autograph agreement databases, as well as individual player contracts.
• Ensure compliance to contractual obligations ensuring all services on agreements are executed.
• Act as a liaison between the Athlete Partnerships, College Licensing teams, various internal teams and third parties providing:
• Regular updates on business needs with respect to relics, autographs, the College Rep Program, social media activations, etc.
• Marketing support in conjunction with Product and Athlete Marketing Teams
• Insights and feedback on product, timelines and deadlines
  

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Experience/interest in related field (Business, Athlete/Agency Relationships, Sports, Finance, etc.).
• Candidates should be organized, open minded to learn and highly detailed-oriented.
• Must like a fast-paced environment, meet tight deadlines and thrive in changing circumstances.
• Exceptional written and oral communication.
• Previous experience using Oracle, Microsoft, Slack and Airtable is a plus
• Previous experience in sports/entertainment preferred.
• Ability to travel, work late hours and weekends if needed.

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation. This salary range is specific to New York City 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. For information about our benefits, please visit https://benefitsatfanatics.com/.

NYC Salary Range

$70,000 - $80,000 USD