Leigh Steinberg | |
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 Steinberg speaking at UC Berkeley | |
| Born | Leigh William Steinberg (1949-03-27)March 27, 1949 (age 76) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of California, Berkeley(B.A.,J.D) |
| Occupation(s) | Sports agent, Lawyer |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Known for | Sports agent,Jerry Maguire,philanthropy, advocacy |
| Children | 3 |
Leigh William Steinberg (born March 27, 1949) is an Americansports agent, philanthropist, and author. During his 50-year career, Steinberg has represented over 300 professional athletes infootball,baseball,basketball,boxing, andOlympic sports. He has represented the No. 1 overall pick in theNFL draft a record eight times.[1] Steinberg is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the sports agent inCameron Crowe's filmJerry Maguire in 1996.[2]
Steinberg was born and raised in Los Angeles by his parents, a teacher and a librarian, who pushed public service along with ambition.[3] He attendedHamilton High School.[4] He attended theUniversity of California Los Angeles, for one year (1966–67) before transferring to theUniversity of California, Berkeley. He also was aresident assistant at the UC Berkeley dorms and hadSteve Bartkowski andSteve Wozniak on his floor.[5] Steinberg eventually formed his ownstudent government political party, called Unity. His moderate politics at the protest-prone Berkeley at the height of theVietnam War drew such a following that he was elected President of theAssociated Students of the University of California, the university's student government.[6][7] He subsequently resigned from his post as a result of a cheating scandal.[8] He earned aB.A. inpolitical science in 1970 and aJ.D. in 1973 from UC Berkeley.
For many years Steinberg andJeff Moorad had a sports agency partnership called "Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn", or "SMD". They sold that firm in October 1999 to Assante Sports Management Group, a Canadian financial-management firm, for a reported $120 million.[9] Assante acquired several other sports agencies. In February 2002, David Dunn left SMD to open Athletes First, taking about 50 NFL players with him and opening offices about a mile from Steinberg's in Newport Beach, Calif. Extensive litigation ensued involving Dunn and Assante.[10]
Steinberg has successfully negotiated over $3 billion in contracts for players includingTroy Aikman,Steve Young, andPatrick Mahomes.[11] He has represented the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft a record eight times,[1] in addition to representing over 60 other first round draft picks in the NFL.
Steinberg has actively been involved with the Human Relations Commission, Children Now,Children's Miracle Network,Coro Fellows Program, and theStarlight Foundation. He founded and underwrites the Steinberg Leadership Institute, a nationwide program run by the Anti-Defamation League preparing students to fight racism and inequality throughout the world which has since become the Glass Leadership Institute. He has endowed scholarships at his high school, donated time and resources to organizations such asSpecial Olympics,Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, andJunior Achievement. He has also endowed a classroom at Boalt Hall at the University of California at Berkeley. Steinberg's community activism has drawn praise from the political world. He has received accommodations from Congress, State Senate, State Legislature, The Los Angeles City Council, Orange County Board of Supervisors,Ronald Reagan,George H. W. Bush, andBill Clinton.[1]
Steinberg has received screen credit as a technical consultant on several films, includingJerry Maguire,Any Given Sunday, andFor the Love of the Game. He has also worked as a consultant for theHBO original seriesArli$$ and served as the title sponsor of the annualNewport Beach Film Festival.[1]
Steinberg made an appearance in the filmJerry Maguire, and is credited as the real life inspiration of the sports agents from that film.[12]
He has developed original television and film content forFox Television,Warner Brothers Studios,ABC Entertainment, and HBO. He has been at the forefront of the Internet revolution, creating and building sports websites, strategically aligning his firm withESPN's Sportzone.com and developing online marketing courseware for professionals and students alike. He has lent his marketing expertise to the video game software business and served as a member of the Board of Directors for two software manufacturers.[1]
Steinberg wrote a best-selling book withMichael D'Orso,Winning with Integrity: Getting What You Want Without Selling Your Soul, published byThree Rivers Press in October 1999.[13][14] The book provides readers insight on how to improve their life through non-confrontational negotiating.[1] The majority of the proceeds raised on his 1999 book tour were donated to the Junior Achievement Educational Foundation.[citation needed] His bookThe Agent: My 40-Year Career Making Deals and Changing the Game was published in 2014.[15]
Steinberg was a speaker at the independently organizedTED Talk hosted byChapman University.[16] He spoke about "Making an impact in the world through sports". Steinberg gave key insights into the changes he's brought to the world through sports; one of his strategies was to encourage his clients to give back to the high school community that helped shape them. Steinberg made it a practice not to take any clients who weren't interested in contributing.[16][17]
In 1992, Steinberg helped lead a successful campaign to prevent theSan Francisco Giants baseball club from relocating to Florida. For his efforts, then San Francisco MayorFrank Jordan honored him by declaring "Leigh Steinberg Day" in the city of San Francisco soon after.[1]
In 1994, then Oakland MayorElihu Harris utilized Steinberg as a consultant in his successful bid to prevent theOakland Athletics baseball club from relocating to Sacramento or San Jose.[1]
Steinberg also served as co-chairperson of the "Save the Rams" committee in its unsuccessful 1990s attempt to keep thefranchise from leaving Southern California and was active in pursuits to attract a new football franchise to locate in Los Angeles.[1]
He lives inSouthern California and has three children.[18]
Steinberg describes his financial problems as having mounted since 2003, when he became involved with extensive litigation with Dunn and Assante[19] (seeabove), escalating with his 2008 divorce settlement,[20] and also exacerbated by problems withalcoholism.[19][21] Steinberg was arrested forDUI in 1997[22] and again in 2007,[23] and forpublic intoxication in 2008,[24] all inNewport Beach, California. In December 2011, it was reported that abench warrant had been issued against Steinberg after he failed to appear at a scheduled hearing, concerning an unpaid judgement of $1.4 million, by far the largest of several debts he owes;[20] in fact the bench warrant was authorized by a judge but never issued.[19][21] On January 11, 2012 Steinberg filed forChapter 7 bankruptcy protection.[19][21] In 2012 a party thrown by friends celebrated 2 years of sober living for Steinberg.[25] Steinberg celebrated a decade of sobriety in 2020.[26]
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