Leigh Steinberg, ”Real Life Jerry Maguire”

The Sports Entrepreneurs Podcast by Marcus Luer

Leigh Steinberg, aka the real life Jerry Maguire, the US Super Agent goat sharing his illustrious career and accomplishments and the trials and tribulations across his 50 year career. Enjoy the history lessons and learnings.

Key Highlights

1. Going way back to the 1960, height of Vietnam war and dealing with then California Governor Ronald Reagan (later US President)
2. The start of “Agents” in American Football – first deal with Steve Bartkowski in 1975 at the age of 25 straight out of Berkely Law School
3. His passion to give back to the community and how that has driven his selection of clients
4. Growth of the company – focus on NFL Quarterbacks, expanding into other Sports – first book, adding agents
5. Helping the city of San Francisco to keep SF Giants in the city, instead of being sold to investor group.
6. Becoming a steward of sports (being the bridge between owners vs athletes – billionaires vs millionaires – avoid strikes, etc)
7. Start of the company, key partners Jeff Moorad and later David Dunn joining and some of the challenges
8. Discussion about the pioneers of the industry, from Mark McCormack to David Falk
9. Explosion of content to drive industry – sports becoming the most popular form of television programming
10. Selling the company and what happened after and how plans changed
11. Early days of athletes content online during the dot.com boom
12. Personal struggles taking a toll and his personal crash in 2010 – recently celebrity 12 years of sobriety – starting all over
13. Lessons from that time and how others can learn from it
14. The new beginning – Steinberg Sports & Entertainment
15. Story behind Jerry Maguire and how the movie came about and a bit about “Any Given Sunday”
16. Current biggest stars on his roster, superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes II – comparing contract numbers across sports and agent commissions
17. Endorsement deals for sports stars – big difference in sports – the billionaire sports superstars of our era
18. NIL and the impact for High School and College players – managing expectations – social media as currency
19. Athletes taking equity in businesses they promote – new form of wealth creation – agency helps to cut those deals
20. Content creation by athletes, production and social media
21. What makes a great athletes a Superstar – certain qualities required
22. His view on the future of sports and Esports and new focus on health and wellness
23. Other things that keep him busy, new book, podcast, charity to agent academy - www.steinbergspeaks.com

About

Leigh Steinberg, premier sports agent, entrepreneur, Chairman and founder of Steinberg Sports and Entertainment, is best known for his work building athletes into stand-alone brands. He is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the Oscar-winning film Jerry Maguire. Leigh has represented many of the most successful athletes and coaches in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, golf, etc., including the number one overall pick in the NFL draft for an unprecedented eight times in conjunction with 64 total first round picks. Furthermore, Leigh has represented other notable athletes, including Oscar De La Hoya and Lennox Lewis, as well as multiple Olympians and professional teams. With an unrivaled history of record-setting contracts, Leigh has secured over $4 billion for his 300+ pro athlete clients and directed more than $800 million to various charities around the world.

Before making a name for himself in the sports industry, Leigh was born and raised in Los Angeles by his parents, a teacher and librarian. He obtained both his B.A. in political science and his J.D. from UC Berkeley, where he was student body president during each tenure. Passionate about giving back and making it his unrelenting personal goal to make the world a better place, Leigh has also distinguished himself by his dedication to philanthropy. He has received commendations from Congress, State Senate, State Legislature, the Los Angeles City Council, the Orange County Board of Supervisors, President Reagan, President Bush, and President Clinton. Leigh has been named “Man of the Year” over a dozen times by a variety of groups, including the March of Dimes, Cedars-Sinai, the Southern California Boy Scouts, the Orange County and Los Angeles Human Relations Commissions, the Orange County and Los Angeles divisions of the Anti-Defamation League, and several other professional and charitable organizations. He has also been awarded the “Keys to the City” in San Francisco, CA, Memphis, TN, Jacksonville, FL and Concord, CA and has even been honored with the declaration of “Leigh Steinberg Day” in San Francisco after his efforts to save the Giants. In 2017, Leigh was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame.

Over the course of his career, Leigh has been featured on numerous national television programs, including 60 Minutes, Larry King Live, The Today Show, Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, Frontline, Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and many more. He has been profiled in a host of magazines, including Business Week, Sports Illustrated, ESPN the Magazine, People, Forbes, Playboy, GQ, and FHM. Leigh has also served as a consultant on several feature films and television series, including Jerry Maguire, Any Given Sunday, For Love of the Game, and Arli$$. Additionally, he has supplied his expertise on the business of sports and athletes for The Dan Patrick Show, The Jim Rome Show, and The Herd with Colin Cowherd, and multiple other radio and TV outlets. Leigh contributes a weekly column to Forbes, HuffPost, and the Daily Pilot and is a guest columnist at The New York Times, Sporting News, and Yahoo Sports. In addition, Leigh has penned notable articles such as “The Future of Sports” for the Sports Business Journal, “Around the NFL in 80 Million Dollars” for Inside Sports Magazine, and “The Future of Sport” for the Smithsonian Magazine.

In addition to his work in the industry, Leigh is also a best-selling author. His first book, Winning with Integrity, provides insight on how to improve life through non-confrontational negotiation, and his most recent book, The Agent: My 40-Year Career of Making Deals and Changing the Game, details his decades of dominance in the sports industry and sheds light on overcoming his personal struggles to launch his comeback. Leigh has been named one of the most powerful people in the NFL by Football Digest and one of the most powerful people in sports by Sporting News. He currently resides in Newport Beach and has three children.

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