HiPERconversations: Leigh Steinberg, Founder & CEO of Steinberg Sports & Entertainment

In sports, there is often the “comeback” story, which is often intertwined with the hero’s journey. In recent memory, people often remember how the New England Patriots were down 25 points (28-3) in the third quarter of Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons. Julian Edelman, Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and the entire New England Patriots never gave up and went on to win the Super Bowl that year 34-28.

You may have heard about Patrick Mahomes’ record-breaking NFL contract for $503 million signed the first week of July 2020. Less reported about is Mahomes’ agent, Leigh Steinberg, who architected the deal. You may be familiar with Leigh as being the inspiration for the smash hit Jerry Maguire (1996) and the famous line between the characters played by Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding, Jr. “SHOW ME THE MONEY!”. 

Suffice to say, Leigh Steinberg, has had an incredible career. But around 2008, he lost it all. Literally. Everything.  

Very few people in the world could experience the amount of material loss that Leigh has, and be resilient enough to not only bounce back, but to thrive more than he did before. 

In HiPERleadership Episode #6, featuring Leigh Steinberg, Leigh goes into greater detail about his rebound and creating ‘win-win’ situations in sports, business and life. Below are the highlights from the episode: 

“For players to be well compensated, they need the sport itself to generate revenue to come up with ancillary revenue streams.” In other words, a rising tide floats all boats, if the league makes more money, the players will make more money. 

 In the 1990’s, Leigh met with the TV networks and then with each team owner, one-by-one, and made the case for developing more content around each game, the players, the owners – because with more content there is more advertising. The teams went from making “$17 million per season per team on television rights, to today at over $255 million per season per team (as of February 2019).” 

 “I think the most critical skill in many ways in life is the ability to listen and draw another human being out so that you understand how to peel back the layers of the onion to get deeper and deeper below the surface responses.” 

 “Our firm is fundamentally based on the premise that athletes can be role models and retrace their routes and go back to the high school, collegiate, and professional community and set up charitable foundations or scholarship funds that enhance the quality of life.” 

 “My leadership style is to explain in great detail what's expected and then not hover over an employee…. if you want to grow a business, you need to create a whole constellation of superstars around you.” 

For these highlights, and more about how Leigh overcame major setbacks, be sure to listen to Episode #6 of the HiPERleadership podcast, out now on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

The HiPERleadership podcast shares stories of achieving incredible breakthrough change, from the perspective of high-impact, performance-driven leaders.

HiPER Solutions serves the leaders who thrive on making change happen. 

As the premier advisory system to assemble the right team and get their key stakeholders bought into big programs, HiPER Solutions helps you navigate the issues that inevitably arise so you can deliver a successful change initiative.

To stay up to date on all things HiPER, follow our company LinkedIn page: HiPER Solutions.

David M. Morris is the Founder and Chairman of HiPER Solutions. David founded the company because through his 20+ years in Executive Search and Executive Advisory, he recognized an unmet need for senior leaders to use data to uncover, unlock, and optimize the people they are counting on to make their biggest projects a success.

In response to this need, HiPER Solutions has developed the first of it’s kind data-driven system for a C-suite Executive to ensure that their largest cross-functional projects operate with efficiency and precision. This system has been leveraged by CEOs and Senior Executives of the Global 2000 and large government organizations, including Uber, E*TRADE, Western Digital, DirectTV, CalPERS, and Young Presidents Organization (YPO), among many others.

As Chairman, David is responsible for the overall direction and strategy of the company, and for evangelizing the HiPER Movement across the world. David earned his Bachelor of Science from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

Leigh Steinberg was born and raised in Los Angeles by his parents, a teacher and librarian. He obtained both his undergraduate and law degrees from Cal where he was student body president during each tenure.

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 62 total first round picks. Furthermore, Leigh has represented other notable athletes such as 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 $3 billion for his 300+ pro athlete clients and directed more than $750 million to various charities around the world.