On Monday, April 1, Pizza with the Pros welcomed The SpringHill Company’s Manager of Client Solutions and Brand Partnerships, Marquise Watson.

The company was founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. Watson helps grow SpringHill’s brand network and visibility. He is a former manager of corporate partnerships for the Philadelphia 76ers from 2019-2022 and is the founder of The Winners Only Group, offering mentorship for aspiring professionals in sports and entertainment.

Watson was born and raised in Piscataway, New Jersey. Growing up, all he knew was basketball and money.

“I wasn’t the best at science, I wasn’t the best at English, I wasn’t the best at history, but you put money and basketball together, something different comes out of me,” Watson said.

Watson attended East Stroudsburg University, spending most of his time in college trying to figure out how to make a career out of the two. He studied sports management and took every opportunity he could, being in the sports management club, campus activity board, cinema club, and African American Student Alliance.

Watson had three internships in college: Nascar, Octagon, and the Children’s Defense Fund. He got his internships with Octagon and Nascar because of his relationship with one of his professors, who recommended him to the company. However, getting internships wasn’t that easy for Watson.

“I applied for 30 different internships, I probably had 30 different interviews, and I went 0 for 30 before I got those two big ones. I don’t want you guys to think I had this poise and I had it all figured out and I had it easy,” Watson stated.

During his senior year, after finishing up his Octagon internship, Watson paid $100 to attend a TeamWorkOnline event that took place in Wells Fargo Arena, driving two hours from East Stroudsburg to Philadelphia. There, he was able to land a job with the Philadelphia 76ers.

When working for the 76ers, Watson worked in Ticket Sales, Business Retention, and Corporate Partnerships. Watson worked in Philadelphia during a time when the team had some of their worst records in franchise history. 

With ticket sales and theme nights becoming very crucial, as they needed something that would bring the crowd in, Watson took this opportunity to show why he’s so good at what he does, coming up with great theme nights that brought in more ticket sales than the team expected.

After leaving the 76ers in 2022, Watson was able to land a job with The SpringHill Company. Watson now gets the chance to work with some of the biggest celebrities in the world, including LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Adam Sandler, Joel Embiid, Naomi Osaka, Anderson Paak, Ed Reed, Sauce Gardner, Druski, and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Pizza with the Pros will continue next Monday, April 8.

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