Sports Content Creator & Graphic Designer

About Us Next Play is a sports media company. We provide professional-level athletic communications, graphics, recruiting visibility, branding, and coverage for organizations below the professional level. We also operate the Next Play Network, an independent sports coverage platform focused on telling compelling, credible stories from across the sports landscape. We are hiring a creative professional to produce social media content for both brands. This is intended to become an ongoing relationship with someone who understands sports, creates excellent graphics, and can help us build consistent and distinct social presences. What You’ll Do You will help plan, design, and produce content across our social media channels for both Next Play and the Next Play Network. Your responsibilities will include: Designing polished, professional sports graphics Creating original social media posts and content concepts Turning stories, announcements, statistics, quotes, and updates into engaging posts Creating platform-appropriate content for Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok, and other relevant channels Designing carousels, promotional graphics, branded templates, and story content Producing or editing short-form video content when needed Writing clear, engaging captions that match each brand’s voice Repurposing one idea into multiple formats without making every channel feel identical Maintaining a consistent visual identity across both brands Building reusable templates that improve the speed and consistency of production Organizing editable files and completed assets Working from a content calendar and meeting agreed-upon deadlines Verifying names, statistics, scores, records, and other sports information before publishing You should be able to take a basic idea or source material and turn it into a strong finished piece—not simply wait for detailed creative instructions on every post. The Two Brands Next Play is our company brand. Its content should communicate our services, capabilities, client work, expertise, company growth, and value to sports organizations. Next Play Network is our sports coverage brand. Its content should highlight athletes, teams, events, stories, results, and other editorial coverage. The brands are related, but they serve different audiences. You must be able to maintain a distinct purpose and voice for each. What We’re Looking For Sports experience is required. Please do not apply if you do not have relevant sports design or sports content experience. The ideal candidate has: A strong portfolio of sports graphics and social content Advanced graphic design skills Strong knowledge of sports culture and visual conventions Experience creating content for multiple social platforms The ability to balance creativity with accuracy Strong typography, composition, hierarchy, and photo-treatment skills Experience with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, Canva, or comparable tools Short-form video editing experience Strong written English and caption-writing ability Excellent attention to detail, especially with names, scores, statistics, and records Reliable communication and consistent turnaround times The ability to work independently within established brand guidelines Experience covering high school, college, amateur, or developmental sports is especially valuable. Our Visual Direction Our style is premium, modern sports media: bold and energetic, with clean hierarchy and a credible broadcast-quality feel. Our core brand system includes: Navy, bright blue, white, black, and restrained gray or silver Bold condensed display typography Clean supporting typography Modern sports and broadcast-inspired layouts Strong visuals without unnecessary clutter or unsupported hype Complete brand guidelines and source assets will be provided. Deliverables The exact weekly cadence will be established together, but ongoing work may include: Feed graphics Stories and vertical graphics Multi-slide carousels Promotional and announcement graphics Athlete and team features Score, result, ranking, and statistical graphics Company and service-related content Short-form videos or reels Captions and post copy Reusable branded templates Monthly or weekly content planning All final deliverables must include properly organized editable source files. Important Standards Accuracy matters as much as creativity. Sports information must be verified, and you must never guess at a name, statistic, record, ranking, or result. We also expect: Original work—not recycled templates with minor color changes Properly licensed fonts, images, and other assets Consistent adherence to brand standards Confidential treatment of unpublished company and athlete information Clear communication when information or source material is incomplete How to Apply Please include: A brief introduction describing your sports content experience. A link to your portfolio. Three to five examples of your strongest sports graphics. At least one example of short-form sports video work, if available. The software you use. Your typical turnaround time for one social graphic. Your weekly availability. Your hourly rate or preferred ongoing pricing structure. A short explanation of how you would make content for a sports media company different from content for a sports news and coverage platform. Begin your application with the words “NEXT PLAY” so we know you read the entire post. Applications without a relevant sports portfolio will not be considered.