Sports Business Development Lead

Polymarket•New York, NY

10d•Onsite

About The Position

Polymarket is seeking a Sports Business Development Lead to drive growth on its prediction market platform within the sports vertical. This role involves identifying, negotiating, and managing partnerships with third-party applications, data providers, and distribution channels to expand Polymarket's reach to sports audiences. The position is a senior individual contributor role responsible for the entire sports channel, requiring independent decision-making, rapid execution, and the ability to build a scalable partnership model. The ideal candidate will have deep knowledge of the sports ecosystem, a strong network, and a proven track record of closing deals that increase trading volume.

Requirements

Proven BD or partnerships experience in the sports industry, specifically working with leagues, teams, sports data providers, or media partners.
Track record of managing the full deal cycle independently, from sourcing through close, without needing a manager in every negotiation.
An existing warm network in the sports tech or data ecosystem. You can get a meeting with a decision-maker at a data provider or sports app without cold outreach.
Experience closing deals with ISVs, IBs, or similar third-party distribution partners where you can point to measurable downstream results.
Comfort owning channel governance and reporting once deals are live, not just handing off to account management.
Strong commercial instincts. You understand deal economics, can draft term sheets, and know how to get to yes without giving away the store.
Based in or willing to work from our NYC office.

Nice To Haves

You've built a BD function or partnership playbook from scratch and have something to show for it.

Responsibilities

Source and qualify new sports partners across ISVs, IBs, and third-party app ecosystems, prioritizing deals that can drive meaningful distribution or downstream trading volume.
Own the full deal cycle from first conversation to signed agreement, managing commercial terms, legal review, and internal stakeholder alignment along the way.
Negotiate partnership contracts directly, knowing when to push, when to compromise, and when to walk away.
Manage active sports channel relationships post-close, including governance, performance reporting, and ongoing partner health.
Build outreach frameworks and partnership playbooks that document what works so future hires can replicate the motion without starting from scratch.
Work closely with product and operations to ensure partners have what they need to integrate and perform.
Represent Polymarket at relevant sports industry events and in the rooms where the right relationships get made.