There’s a common saying in this industry that there’s no such thing as a 9-to-5 in sports. Christopher Gil knows this all too well. Yet, amid the chaos of flight itineraries, contract negotiations, and client scouting trips, Gil finds time for something he holds dear to his heart: being a mentor to those around him, drawing on his own experiences as a mentee in school, and building off his expertise navigating the sports industry.
His journey to becoming one of the first Mexican American football agents in the country is one of perseverance. He began studying at East Los Angeles College before transferring to USC, and eventually founded his own sports agency, representing players from high school to the National Football League (NFL).
His father said, “Son, I went to Cal State LA. If you want to come to Cal State LA, you can do it too. But I want something bigger and better for you.’ Growing up, my dad was a big USC football fan, we would watch the USC Trojans every Saturday … So for me, I’m like I gotta go to USC, and I can’t let anybody tell me no.”
Gil’s parents are his support system and motivation for success. “I looked up to my dad a lot because I told myself, if my dad could come from Michoacán, Mexico, not know English, get discriminated against here [East L.A] in the 70s, become a teacher and create a life for himself here to give me the best that I can, I can do anything.”
At the Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism, he found his own lifelong mentors, including Journalism Professor Jeff Fellenzer, who saw his spark early on.
“Chris’s success is no surprise to me. I saw it when he was a student. He was engaged and dialed into every discussion we had in class. You can tell sometimes when you look —when you see students in large classes, it’s just, you know, the body language, the eye contact. They’re focused,” says Fellenzer.
“I have what I call my four P’s for success: Passion, preparation, performance, and persistence, and Chris checks all those boxes.”
Gil joined USC’s Sports Business Association (SBA), meeting industry professionals and familiarizing himself with the path he wanted to follow. “I’ve been involved with the SBA since literally my first semester at USC. That’s one of the reasons why I went to SC.”
His connections through SBA allowed him to gain internship experience with various professional sports teams. “Growing up, I didn’t know what internships were. When I was at USC, my very, very first job in sports was working for the LA Kings. 50-50 sales. I was doing some PR marketing stuff.” Under Samuel Katz’s direction, an internship in NFL player disability benefits affirmed his career path.
“I had to be in a suit every day. I had to be polished, clean-cut. That’s when I was like, ‘I want to do this for a living.’ I went from working 24 hours a week to 40 hours. I used to live at that office. He was telling me all the time, ‘Chris, I’m teaching you something right now that’s going to be worth more than money in the future.’ And I swear it’s true. He taught me how to build grit, how to talk to players, and a lot about this landscape.”
After graduating from USC in 2020, Gil earned his Master’s in Business Management from Loyola Marymount University in 2023. That same year, he passed the Certified Contract Advisor exam administered by the National Football League Players’ Association.
Gil co-founded Optimal Sports Management in 2021, after college athletes began profiting off their Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL). The boutique agency offers NFL contract representation, client relations, career consulting, and more.
When Gil started his agency, he was—and still is—one of the very few Latinos in the industry. Gil’s co-founder and fellow USC alum, Frank Yip, who was an Asian American NFL agent in the 80s, helped him navigate the landscape.
“For me, he’s been able to kind of mentor me through the process. For the hundreds of players that have told me no, I’ve got players that have told me yes, I’ve got players that believe in me. And Frank has helped guide me through that.”
Gil keeps his team small to align with the agency’s intended boutique size. “I sell my players on truly being part of a small agency, part of a family …I talk to my high school players the same way I talk to my NFL guys because it’s tough love in this game. I want to make sure that these high school kids can reach that next level in college, where things are bigger, expectations are higher, and ultimately, the NFL. ”
Currently, the agency represents 28 athletes, including USC football players: Marquis Gallegos, Maliki Crawford and Christian Pierce.
Above all else, Gil is a mentor to his clients and the young students he reaches, leveraging his experience to connect and provide guidance when needed. “A lot of these players come from kind of lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Growing up in East LA, I know how the neighborhood works and some of the similar struggles that my family went through or that their families are going through.”
One of Gil’s success stories is Jonah Coleman, a running back at the University of Washington. “He’s from Stockton, California, and Stockton is kind of like East LA. There’s a lot of cycles of violence, gangs, and drugs. I’ve known Jonah since his senior year of high school. And to see where he is now, blowing up at Washington. I’ve been able to help guide and mentor him to stay away from things in that neighborhood that could have affected him negatively.”
Gil emphasizes community involvement to his athletes, helping them integrate into the communities they play in. “One thing that I stress to them a lot is hosting youth camps and showing these kids in their neighborhoods what a life in football and education looks like. One of my former clients, Raleek Brown, threw his first annual youth camp before he was committed to USC up in Stockton.”
Gil now serves as a mentor to students in the SBA. “I wanted to become an agent and got some good guidance from good mentors at the SBA. That’s why I decided to come back, as a mentor…it wasn’t too long ago I was in those seats trying to get into sports.”
One of his current mentees is Zoe Bendell, a freshman studying public relations at USC. Gil has helped her consider various paths to becoming an agent. “He gave me probably the most helpful advice through this whole process about law school,” she says, “He encouraged me to choose my own path and be confident in myself and my abilities to be able to take those steps to become an agent.”
Part of his mentorship with the SBA includes having meetings with mentees and sharing his experiences. “He’s very insightful for not only being someone in the industry, but being someone who started up his own practice, and he’s able to relay a lot of the knowledge he’s accumulated over the years to us. It’s been really great as someone who wants to get into the same industry,” says Michael Tashman, a senior studying business finance at USC.
Looking ahead, Gil has his eyes set on providing the best representation to his clients and women’s sports. “I think women’s sports are going to be the future, specifically flag football. I’m good at the football side of things, and I want to continue growing and creating a Women’s flag football division. Ultimately, I want to start a women’s 7v7 flag football team.”
To Gil, it’s crucial to involve the next generation in sports and create role models of success for them. “I try to empower our athletes to run these camps and run community-based initiatives. These athletes don’t forget where they’re from, and the community doesn’t either.”