Marketing Partnerships Intern

About Superior Sports: We're one of the fastest-growing representation agencies in the country. 0 → 32 clients in under a year. Profitable, lean, and systematic. We represent professional athletes (NBA, G-League, international) and elite college talent with a combined 5M+ social following, and we're leaving money on the table because we don't have someone hunting partnerships full-time.The Role: We're looking for a closer. Someone who isn't scared of a cold call, a \"no,\" or a long sales cycle. You'll source brand deals for our athletes, build out our partnerships pipeline, and turn cold outreach into signed agreements. This is a revenue-generating role disguised as an internship. Your work directly puts money in athletes' pockets and on our books.If you can sell, you'll thrive here. If you can't, this isn't the role for you.What You'll Actually DoSource partnerships: Identify and pitch brands that align with our athletes' personal brands and audiencesOutbound outreach: Cold calls, cold emails, LinkedIn DMs, in-person if it makes sense. Whatever it takesDeal pipeline management: Track every conversation from first touch through signed agreementBrand research: Build prospect lists across apparel, nutrition, lifestyle, fintech, gaming, regional brandsPitch material support: Work with our creative team to build one-pagers and partnership decksNegotiation support: Sit in on calls with our COO, learn the deal-making side of the businessYou Must HaveSales instinct: You're comfortable picking up the phone and you don't fold at the first objectionCommunication skills: You can write a cold email that gets opened and a follow-up that gets answeredBasketball/sports knowledge: You understand athlete branding and what makes a partnership actually fitOrganization: You can manage 100+ open conversations without dropping the ballMicrosoft Excel proficiency (pipeline tracking lives here)Bonus Points ForPrior sales, business development, or fundraising experience (even student org level)Understanding of influencer marketing rates and athlete partnership structuresCRM experience (HubSpot, Airtable, Notion)Existing brand or agency contacts in sports marketingSocial media fluency. You understand audience, engagement, and brand fitWhy This RoleReal revenue responsibility. You bring in deals, you see your impact on the P&LDirect access to the COO and the partnership side of a high-growth agencyPath to full-time employment (our current Creative Director started as an unpaid intern exactly like this. Now she runs all creative operations)Build a network of brand contacts that will follow you your entire careerSmall team = no gatekeepers, no committee, no permission needed to take a shotThe Fine Print10+ hours/week commitmentMust be available during business hours (9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, M-F). Partnership calls happen during the workdayUnpaid internship with clear path to paid full-time role based on performanceStart immediately (we have athletes whose partnership inboxes are empty and shouldn't be)Remote How to Apply Prove you can close. Apply via LinkedIn AND email with subject line: \"Marketing Partnerships Intern - [Your Name]\"In your email, pitch us one brand you'd target for a Superior Sports athlete and why. That's your cover letter. No AI. We can tell, and it's an immediate pass.We're reviewing applications on a rolling basis. If your pitch is sharp, you'll hear from us within 48 hours.