Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Gil.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Growing up as a kid, football was always a focal point in my life. Some of the earliest memories I have with my father were watching the USC football team that was led by Pete Carroll obliterate their weekly opponents, memories that I still cherish to this day. Not only was I enamored with the game, but also with the players who risked their lives to play it. I believe this is where my early passion to become a sports agent began. Admittedly, like many other USC football fans during the 2000’s era, my favorite player to watch was the legendary Reggie Bush. Reggie was a generational talent that was blessed with size, speed, and understanding of the game. I remember one Christmas my father got me a Cardinal and Gold USC football sweater, along with a copy of ‘NCAA 07 Football’ that had an image of Reggie Bush on the front and I thought it was the greatest Christmas ever. I think it is safe to say that is where my journey began, with the love of USC football.
My journey to attend and graduate from USC was a long and difficult one, but when I got my acceptance letter in 2018, I made the most out of it. My very first semester I had the pleasure of meeting Professor Jeff Fellenzer and enrolling in some of his Sports Media courses. From the moment I met Professor Fellenzer, I knew just how special the Trojan Family was. He was very welcoming and supportive of my passion for the sports industry. Professor Fellenzer also helped me enroll in the USC Sports Business Association club and served as my mentor throughout my college days. Through my time at USC, I was fortunate enough to have worked for several professional Los Angeles sports teams and sports lawyers. From those rich and meaningful experiences, I knew that one day I wanted to become an NFL Agent.
I got my break in the industry in the Summer of 2021, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of NCAA athletes in the infamous Alston v. NCAA antitrust lawsuit. As a result of this victory, college athletes could now profit off their name, image, and likeness through a variety of different endorsement deals. This was a dream come true for me, as I could now begin to work alongside some of the best college football players in the game and slowly start creating meaningful relationships that could benefit us both. With a strong alumni connection to a blue-blood football school like USC and a rich media market like Los Angeles, I decided to create my own sports marketing agency, Optimal Sports Management.
In November of 2021, when USC hired football coach Lincoln Riley, the entire landscape of USC football changed. The very first recruit he flipped to attend USC was 5-star Running Back, Raleek Brown, who was attending Trinity League powerhouse, Mater Dei High School. Through my NIL advisor’s guidance, I was able to secure Raleek as my very first client. That was one of my greatest professional accomplishments to date and I am very fortunate to have such a talented player on my roster. For those not too familiar with football recruiting, 5-star players are the very best players at their position nationwide. As a result, there are only about 35 5-star players or so in each football recruiting class that is composed of hundreds of thousands of players throughout the nation. This is why it is especially exciting for me to be working with one at such a young point in my career. It is ironic that Raleek reminds me a lot of Reggie Bush, a fast running back who has a strong understanding of the game.
Once I landed Raleek, other elite football players soon took notice of my agency and all the exciting marketing campaigns we had planned. As of today, I represent 8 collegiate clients that attend: USC, UCLA, Notre Dame, Stanford, and Arizona. I was also fortunate enough to land my very first professional football player, Randy Satterfield, a few months ago. Randy currently plays in the newly developed United States Football League (USFL) as a key member for the New Jersey Generals. I humbly believe Optimal Sports has one of the youngest and most talented client rosters throughout the United States that will only continue to grow as we navigate the NIL landscape and continue to recruit the best players.
My ultimate goal is to be an NFL Agent within the next year. As of today, the NFL requires a Master’s Degree and a passing score on their league exam to be a certified agent. In doing so, I hope to become one of the first standout Mexican-American agents within the NFL and set a great example for others to follow. Until then, I will be attending Loyola Marymount University this Fall in pursuit of my M.S in Management. While at Loyola, I hope to augment my knowledge pertaining to business and to graduate at the top of my class. When I am not busy with school, I want to help create a sports business club that can bring in guest speakers and help students gain some valuable experience pertaining to a career in sports.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The road to where I currently stand with my marketing agency has not been smooth in any way, but I have been grateful for the many lessons they have taught me, both professionally and personally.
Working in athlete representation is a very cutthroat business, especially for me at such a young age. There are so many other established sports agents who have decades worth of experience that constantly view my emerging agency as a threat. In this industry, client poaching is a very real possibility and can lead to players leaving you if you do not perform well for them. This is why I constantly have to remind myself, “What have I done for my players today?” If the answer is not to my liking, then that is what motivates me to work even harder on their behalf.
Another struggle for me has been navigating the sports marketing world while coming out of the global COVID-19 pandemic. When the pandemic began, we quickly saw how different sports leagues around the globe ceased operations. Empty arenas and stadiums resulted in a tremendous amount of lost revenue through ticket revenue and media rights. This is why it has been a little more difficult to convince brands and companies to work with my athletes. The majority of brands and companies enjoy working with high-profile athletes because they increase brand awareness and content engagement. However, with the slow economic recovery, these brands and companies are a bit more frugal in their Marketing budget. Nonetheless, I continue to do my best to work with premier brands and companies on behalf of all my clients.
The last struggle for me has been all the pressure that comes with my position. Being a Sports Marketing Agent is by no means an easy and glamorous job, as many people often think. There is always a lot of work to be done with so little time. I am constantly up late at night developing strategic marketing campaigns, identifying brand-building areas, and creating social media strategies. In addition to this, I keep my phone next to me at all times, as all my clients know that they can call me at any time, with no questions asked. Although I love my work, I have slowly been creating a healthy work-life balance by delegating more tasks to my amazing employees and interns.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Optimal Sports Management is a football marketing agency that is based in Los Angeles, California. As of today, I serve as the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the company. At the heart of our agency, we specialize in procuring NIL (Name, Image, and Likeness) marketing deals for collegiate football players and endorsement deals for our professional football players. In addition to this, we offer a variety of different professional services including: contract negotiations, client relations, public relations, and wealth management. Something unique about us is that we recently launched our own storefront (gridironcollection.club) where our athletes can sell their own clothing apparel, autographed memorabilia, and personalized video messages. To date, I believe we are the only NIL agency to do this.
There are a variety of different things that separate us from others. I believe the most important is how our blend of youth and experience allows us to resonate well with our clients and prospective clients. Our ability to talk to our clients about a variety of different professional and personal topics allows us to create close interpersonal relationships. By doing so, we establish a sense of family, that allows us to treat them as such. I have said this a million times, in this industry creating and maintaining meaningful relationships is key.
Brand-wise, I am most proud of not only having amazing football players on the field but even better young men off the field. At Optimal, we are very selective in regards to which players we want to work with. We have a set of core values that we look for in each and every player to ensure they have what it takes to be an Optimal Athlete.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
My advice for networking is to create and actively manage a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is one of the most valuable professional networking sites that is out there and if used properly can help people find local events, look for jobs, and meet new people within their respective industry.
Another piece of advice is to attend as many events pertaining to your industry as possible. A lot of times, they are free of charge or only cost a small fee to attend. Before you attend, research who is likely to be there, study their position within their company and think of how they can assist you. When you do attend these events, don’t be afraid to talk to other people there and exchange contact information. By doing so, you can establish valuable relationships that can potentially help you later on in your career. One line I like to tell people is, “It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you.”
The last bit of advice I have for networking is just to be yourself. Don’t try to impress anyone with fancy language or by being over the top with things, people can see right through that. Just be you and talk about things that you are passionate about within your industry.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.optimalsports.net/
- Instagram: christopheregil_
- Other: https://gridironcollection.club/
