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Buried within Syracuse University’s campus lies a cohort of students who are most productive when rotting on the couch. It’s a typical Friday setup for Slice Sports Management, where diligent workers of the sports marketing agency sit together in an apartment sending emails to pitch brand deals for their clients.

The company’s founders — Brandon Gilbert and Jacob Tilem — pinpointed Friday as their favorite day to work. It best captures the bustling nature and highlights the first-class commitment which Slice puts toward its athletes.

“The selling point now is — do you want a team of 10 hungry, motivated college students to just email for you every single day, no strings attached?” Gilbert said.

Since its inception in 2023, Slice has transformed into one of the premier Name, Image and Likeness agencies in Syracuse. The sports marketing agency emphasizes leveraging athletes’ NIL to create sponsorship deals with brands, including American Eagle and Temu. Slice has built up a player base that’s more than 20 names long (18 official signees) which includes Dyaisha Fair, Mounir Hima, Boston University TikTok star Otto Landrum and high school quarterback Joey Gaston — Ice Spice’s younger brother — among others.

Through their exuding confidence, detailed outreach strategy and content-driven marketing, Gilbert and Tilem have spearheaded a groundbreaking, student-run NIL operation.

“I truly don’t think there are two better people to work for,” said Ben Lichtenstein, who works on brand partnerships for Slice.

Members of Slice Sports Management posing with SU football players Donovan Brown and David Omopariola, who are each signees with the student-run NIL agency. Photograph Courtesy of Ryan Wright

A desire to enter the sports industry led Gilbert to attend SU and major in sports management. He said he thought internships would “fall in his lap” upon arriving on campus, though a harsh reality set in. Gilbert applied for positions with the Syracuse Crunch and the SU men’s and women’s basketball teams. But he was rejected by them all.

Gilbert said he grew “paranoid” about his then-lacking resume. But he took a sales-based sports management course taught by Dave Meluni, an associate teaching professor at SU’s Falk College, with Tilem when they were both sophomores. Because of the class, the pair started their own sports marketing business.

Gilbert and Tilem came to Meluni and inquired about how they could take the idea a step further. Meluni said they’d need to get recognized as an agency to generate profit, as it’s illegal to solicit brands in New York state without a license. Based on what Meluni saw when he had Gilbert and Tilem in class, he knew they were onto something special.

“They know the rules. They know the state rules. And they know what brands want,” Meluni said. “So, these guys have learned the skills (to succeed).”

Tilem’s father, a lawyer, helped them register as an LLC and Slice was off and running. The next step was to sign their first client.

Gilbert and Tilem use social media as their main source of outreach, particularly Instagram Direct Messages. The former explained he and his friends would solely DM athletes to try and get people on their podcast in high school, which was called “Sesh Time Sports.”

It caused Gilbert to understand the “power” of Instagram DMs, he said, and he implemented the same model with Slice. When messaging athletes, Gilbert and Tilem emphasize that “Slice is built on passion” and strive to put their clients first in every situation. Though at first, they were shot down by 15 athletes, Tilem estimated.

“It seemed like no one wanted to be the first domino that would drop,” Tilem said. “We were getting on calls with athletes, we were following up with their parents… We were definitely stressing.”

Then on April 5, 2023, the first domino finally dropped. Slice signed high school point guard Malachi Brown, a then-senior out of Legacy Early College in Georgia who eventually committed to Seton Hall.

Their pitch to Brown didn’t waver from their strategy, Gilbert said. They kept the same mindset and developed a personal connection by speaking to his mother. Gilbert and Tilem talked to the two about the financial benefits he could receive by simply posting on Instagram and signing brand deals ignited by Slice. The Browns were fully on board.

“I think they were the first (family) actually to think it through and believe in us to be completely honest,” Gilbert said.

More athletes began to follow suit. Over the summer, Slice signed Syracuse football linebacker David Omopariola and wide receiver Donovan Brown. Omopariola, an incoming freshman at the time, said he was initially scared to enter the NIL sphere. But Gilbert eased him in by speaking highly of the collaborative environment Slice was looking to instill.

“They get their own part from getting deals for us. So it’s like, they’re not just chilling, they’re actually always working to get us paid,” Omopariola said.

Heading into the 2023-24 academic year, Gilbert and Tilem knew they needed to expand as Slice continued to grow its player base. They hired high-quality photographers, videographers and editors while increasing their staff to generate more brand deals and signees.

Tilem said that during winter break, Slice took on a group of interns to help with outreach. They have also persuaded their friends to join the company and perform responsibilities such as player outreach and securing partnerships. The two live with six other students, and Tilem said each of them is involved with Slice — including Lichtenstein.

“It was honestly just a no-brainer,” Lichtenstein said of joining Slice. “Not only through real-world experience, but also something we can put on our resumes and walk into job interviews and slap it down on the table (and say), ‘Hey, I’m a junior in college and I’ve signed three Division I athletes.’”

The staff living together has increased productivity, as Gilbert pinpointed how they will sit together in an “email circle” and reach out to brands on behalf of their athletes. Plus, the Slice apartment has transformed into a common space for not just those who live there, but for the companies’ athletes as well.

Players often come to the apartment to film videos or even just to hang out. The open setting at Slice has allowed it to be more personable with its signees, which Gilbert believes sets the agency apart from others.

“It’s a funny relationship,” Gilbert said. “We’ll text them after games and we’ll get on FaceTime and go, ‘David (Omopariola) and Donovan (Brown) come over to our apartment and just hang out.’ I think it’s all the little things that just add up to make us unique.”

On Nov. 8, 2023, Slice announced on its Instagram page that it signed Shy Hawkins, a four-star Syracuse women’s basketball commit. That same day, according to Gilbert, Fair sent Slice a DM asking if there was any more availability for new signees.

Cindy Zhang | Digital Design Director

Considering the possible rewards of signing Fair, a star point guard who ranks No. 6 on the women’s college basketball all-time scoring list, Gilbert and Tilem pounced on the opportunity.

“We weren’t going to say no,” Tilem said. “We wanted to connect with her immediately and have a deal ready for her before we signed her.”

Fair joined Slice shortly after Hawkins did, and has quickly become one of the faces of the agency’s player base. The company has done multiple photo and video shoots with Fair — partnering with In The Lab and a soon-to-be-published video for CW Sports — while also posting about her on-court successes as SU tries to make a deep NCAA Tournament run.

Signing Fair was another boost to Gilbert and Tilem’s confidence. Yet a rare emotion — nerves — swelled inside the two on Feb. 8, once they detected SU running back LeQuint Allen Jr. at a women’s basketball game. Gilbert said he and Tilem saw Allen Jr. sitting alone in the crowd, which caused them to be apprehensive at first. Then, Gilbert’s poise kicked in.

“Just follow me, we’re doing it,” Gilbert remembered telling Tilem.

Gilbert and Tilem went up to introduce themselves to Allen Jr., and walked away with his phone number. Per Gilbert, the encounter encapsulates their growth. They used to beg high school athletes on Instagram to sign with Slice, and now display an unflappable swagger to approach whomever they please. For Gilbert and Tilem, no athlete is too big for them.

“I think (Tilem and I) both have a good head on our shoulders. We live day by day, and every day is something new,” Gilbert said. “I can confidently say when I’m older, sitting in my chair, I’ll look back and be like, ‘Holy sh*t.’”

Published on February 15, 2024 at 2:37 am

Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews