Leigh Steinberg

Long Bio LS – LSF

Leigh Steinberg is a pioneering sports agent, entrepreneur, best-selling author, and Chairman of Leigh Steinberg Sports and Entertainment Holdings. With a career spanning over five decades, he is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the sports industry, often serving as the real-life inspiration for the Oscar-winning film Jerry Maguire. Throughout his career, Leigh has represented some of the most iconic athletes and coaches in football, basketball, baseball, hockey, boxing, and golf. His unparalleled track record includes representing the number-one overall pick in the NFL Draft an unprecedented eight times, securing a total of 64 first-round draft picks, and representing 12 Hall of Famers. With a legacy built on groundbreaking contracts, Leigh has negotiated over $4 billion in contracts for his 300+ professional athlete clients and has directed more than $1.2 billion toward charitable causes.

Leigh’s impact reaches far beyond the sports arena. His commitment to advocating for athlete welfare has become a defining aspect of his legacy. As an agent for almost half of the NFL’s starting quarterbacks in the 1980s, he witnessed firsthand the growing crisis of concussions in sports. This issue, often ignored or minimized by both teams and the athletes themselves, was something Leigh could not ignore. He observed a deeply ingrained culture of denial, where athletes were conditioned to push through pain and prioritize immediate performance over long-term health. This led many to mask injuries, deceive coaches, and ignore the warning signs of brain trauma in their relentless pursuit of playing through the pain.

It was the environment of denial that ignited a profound crisis of conscience for Leigh. Having spent decades representing athletes at the peak of their careers, he began to realize that the very individuals he was helping to achieve greatness were suffering in silence. The medical community, at the time, had no answers to critical questions such as: How many hits to the head are too many? This gap in knowledge, combined with his own personal responsibility to the athletes he represented, led Leigh on an exploration of advocating and educating all on brain health.

For the last thirty years, Leigh has hosted over 30 concussion seminars and founded the annual Brain Health Summit and Brain Health Lounge at his Super Bowl Party to bring leading medical experts, athletes, and industry leaders together to confront this crisis head-on. Leigh founded the Leigh Steinberg Foundation to further his personal mission of bringing awareness, prevention, and solutions to the specter of athletic-related concussions.

Leigh’s work with the Foundation is rooted in a belief that collective action has the power to create lasting positive change in the lives of those impacted by brain injuries. Through his advocacy, he’s raised awareness not only about the immediate impact of concussions but also about the long-term consequences they can have on players’ lives after they retire. More than just an agent, he has become a crusader for a safer, more responsible future—not only for athletes but for all people.

The Foundation continues to push the envelope on education, prevention, and recovery. Leigh Steinberg is shaping not only the future of sports but also everyday life, with the aim to protect the health and well-being of humanity.