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Agent Spotlight: Leigh Steinberg (Part II)

Will the real Leigh Steinberg please stand up?

It seems like the real Leigh Steinberg is a lot of things. He will go down as one of the most successful and influential sports agents of all time. He was the man behind Jerry Maguire. It all started off with his initial client, Steve Bartkowski, who was the 1st pick in the 1975 draft. Later, he would have his former business partner try to steal away all of his clients [Agent Spotlight: David Dunn]. Steinberg represented Matt Leinart [Early $ for Leinart]. And then Leinart left him for CAA [Leinart Ditches Steinberg]. He throws annual Super Bowl parties to boost his image [Party Like A Sports Agent]. Only to have his reputation tarnished by a D.U.I. arrest [DUI In The OC].

Lately, though, Steinberg has been taking on some new roles to help bolster his image. He has been raising awareness about the severity of NFL concussions, trying to improve the environment, and strongly endorsing Barack Obama.

On the Obama front, Steinberg will soon be launching an initiative called, “Athletes for Obama,” which happens to have no relation to this MySpace page. Charles Barkley and LeBron James may be among the athletes that support the cause [THE NEGOTIATORS: Steinberg still big on green]. Steinberg also wants to make an effort to combat global warming by introducing facility improvements in stadiums/arenas. As a side note, SportsAgentBlog.com will be doing its own part by participating in Blog Action Day (a blogger initiative to raise awareness and money around the environment).

Leigh Steinberg is no longer the agent he once was. His only true client is Ricky Williams (Bruce and Ryan Tollner took over the representation of all of Steinberg’s other clients), and Ricky is not running anywhere fast. He still has his own agency in Newport Beach, though, and is actually bringing on new agents to help build it up once again.

But this time, Steinberg is trying something new. He wants to create movies, affect global warming, change the landscape in the NFL concerning concussions, and even create a jockey league. Who knows what Leigh Steinberg will be up to next time we report on his life.

-Darren Heitner

If you are interested in reading the first Agent Spotlight on Leigh Steinberg, please click here.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.

4 replies on “Agent Spotlight: Leigh Steinberg (Part II)”

No. Mr. Steinberg had the Tollners working with him while STM was still in progress. He has merely stepped down in the role as an agent but still provdies ideas and thoughts to REP 1.

Then why is he working so hard to bolster his image? In support of what Darren wrote, I saw him on Mike and the Maddog two days ago commenting on everything from Mike Vick, to player holdouts, and explaining how contracts work. This guy represented Troy Aikman, Drew Bledsoe, and a slew of other top QB’s. He consistently set the bar for the ” highest paid QB in the NFL”. That should speak for itself. Why does he need to prove himself again?

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