Equity, Negotiation, and Give-Back with the Real Jerry Maguire, Leigh Steinberg

Leigh Steinberg is a sports legend, representing a dozen NFL Hall of Famers and iconic figures in every sport, including Olympic champions. Famously a role model for Tom Cruise’s character in Jerry Maguire, Steinberg is on a mission to bring diversity, equity, and inclusion to the forefront in the sports industry. Steinberg has secured over $4 billion for his 300+ pro athlete clients (including today’s top quarterback Patrick Mahomes) and directed more than $750 million to various charities globally. He’s been lauded by Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and Obama and been interviewed by Larry King, but now he sits down with Jackie Ferguson for a wide-ranging discussion of the important topics facing the sports industry and society in the twenty-first century.

Transcript

Jackie Ferguson: Thanks for listening to the Diversity Beyond the Checkbox Podcast. Today, I am honored to have Leigh Steinberg with me. Leigh is a famed American sports agent, philanthropist and author.

During his 40 plus career Lee has represented over 300 professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, boxing, and Olympic sports. He has represented the number one overall pick in the NFL draft a record eight times, and a record 12 Hall of Famers. If you’re not a sports enthusiast, like I am, you’ve likely seen the movie Jerry McGuire with Tom Cruise.

Jerry McGuire was inspired by Leigh Steinberg. In the intro, I said he was an American sports agent, but Leigh is ‘The’ American sports agent. Leigh, thank you so much for spending some time with me today.

Leigh Steinberg: My pleasure. Happy to be with you.

Jackie: Yes. I’m so excited for this conversation. As I move through these 254 questions, just joking, I’ve got so many. I I’m gonna start with a few, but I’d love to start just by asking how you became a sports agent and what’s been the most exciting part of your career.

Full Episode Transcript

Diversity Beyond the Checkbox is brought to you by The Diversity Movement, hosted by Head of Content Jackie Ferguson and is a production of Earfluence.

 

DEI Navigator offers access to our award-winning team of proven business leaders and certified diversity executives, along with expert curated content, how-to guides, specialized training, and a community of peers sharing their ideas and lessons learned — all at a fraction of the cost of hiring a full-service DEI consultancy.

The Inclusive Language Handbook: A Guide to Better Communication and Transformational Leadership, by Jackie Ferguson and Roxanne Bellamy

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