Leigh Steinberg on Life, Loss, and Comebacks

Raw Text

Report this post

Get Ahead by LinkedIn News

Get Ahead by LinkedIn News

Welcome to Stepladder, by Todd Dybas , a new newsletter about career journeys. We all endured twists and turns during our work careers. Experiences, bad and good, shape us as bosses or employees. This newsletter will explore various work paths via deep conversations with newsmakers, business builders, content creators, and more.

Leigh Steinberg, 73 | Super Agent, CEO | Los Angeles

Steinberg vaulted from Berkeley Law to one of the top agents in sports. His negotiation and people skills led to more high-profile clients, more fame, and even credit as the inspiration for Tom Cruise’s character in the 1996 Oscar-nominated “ Jerry Maguire .” Steinberg also declared bankruptcy, battled alcoholism, and rebooted his career and persona with recent client success, in addition to ongoing philanthropic efforts.

Steinberg’s answers from a conversation with LinkedIn News have been lightly edited for clarity in this as-told-to format.

My first job? You’re looking at it.

I was brought up with a father who had two core values: One was treasure relationships, especially family. And the second was to try to make a meaningful difference in the world and help people who can’t help themselves.

I watched all the lawyer shows, “Perry Mason,” “Judge for the Defense.”

I became a dorm counselor in an undergraduate dormitory, and they moved the freshman football team into it. I was working my way through law school, and one of the students was Steve Bartkowski, who became the very first player picked in the 1975 draft. We had other people there too. There was a little bearded fellow who kept everyone’s phones ringing all the time and was doing all sorts of pranks. And his name was Steve, Steve Wozniak.

There really was no organized field, no sports agency back then, and Bartowski asked me to represent him. So instead of taking one of the other jobs, I had the first pick overall.

The contract was to be signed the next day. We get to the airport and there’s klieg lights flashing in the sky, like for a movie premier, a huge crowd pressed up against the police line at the airport. And the first thing we hear is, “We interrupt the Johnny Carson show to bring you a special news bulletin: Steve Bartowski and his lawyer Leigh Steinberg have just arrived at Atlanta Airport.” And I really saw then the tremendous idol worship and veneration athletes were held in.

What Works at Work

I think the most important quality in life or business is the ability to listen.

If you can put yourself in another person’s heart and mind and see the world the way they see it, it’s the key in politics. It's the key in recruiting. It’s the key in successful contract negotiation.

I thought to get the most creatively out of every person, the key was to explain to them the basic principles and goals of what we were trying to achieve, and then allow them to use their own skills and their own talents to come up with creative solutions. So anybody can take a confused fact situation and go through the relevant rules and dates and principles and dynamics to come up with some way to clarify, improve and enhance that situation. A really brilliant person can come up with a new modality or a new way of solving that problem.

Allow those people enough space and autonomy in their tasks that you’re not hovering over them every second. You’re managing so they’re not so afraid to make a mistake that they won’t do something bold, that they won’t use their own personality and initiative. You want them to do that.

It may be true that the chief executive has the ability to do every task better than everyone else. Questionable, but it may be true. So the key to expanding and having dominion and the ability to grow is being willing to build the people up around you as superstars and having the world see them as not a diminished replacement for the ability to interact one-on-one with me, but as having their own cache.

Living on the Upside

When someone runs up to the table at a dinner or at an airport, or when I’m out in public and they say four words to me or ask me to say them to him, and they start with, “Show…Me…The…” Look, if you’re gonna go out in public then you can’t be Greta Garbo like you wanna be alone here out in public. You need to be gracious. And you never know in a situation where a chance interaction might lead to some great future relationship.

You can have power in the world, or you can brag about having power in the world. And if you wanna have true power, praise the other person, let them have the glory.

Remember that the question in the negotiation is whose reality is going to prevail?

At a certain level, it creates an expectation that the very peak of your performance is gonna be replicated every single time. Right? And anything less than that is… you’re failing.

There comes a point at which you're chasing your own past success and so there are levels at which the building of it is more fun.

Living on the Downside

In the early 2000s, a series of events happened: my father died of cancer which was really shaking to me because he was a rock in my life. My two boys were diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which is a rare disease. So they’re both blind.

I didn’t have to win everything to be happy. I didn’t have to sign every last client or do every last biggest deal. But in my personal life, somehow I had the illusion I could stop my father from dying of cancer, that I could protect my kids. And that I could have a successful marriage. And when I didn’t, I eventually turned to alcohol to numb the pain from that. And that was about as bad a choice as I could have made.

And at one point I crash. I had given up my business. I had given up my office. I’d given up my home and I’m sitting on my father’s desk and my most compelling question was where can I find more vodka? My life had been reduced to that.

Addiction is the disease that tells you you don’t have a disease. And it is very hard to break denial.

If you keep thinking that’s the last bottom then, you know, things will get worse.

The Road Back

I’m pretty public about all these issues in the hope that if someone’s out there struggling and depressed and despondent and confused that it might give them a little hope to see that someone was right where they were and things became a little bit better.

I hit 12 1/2 years of continuous sobriety.

I found a group of businessmen who would fund me. They were looking at me as a distressed property. And so we slowly built back.

We signed Patrick Mahomes and a group of players.

But my real comeback, if you will, was being a good parent and available for my kids and maintaining sobriety.

Let’s go back to my dad. He had a corollary in how I was raised. And he’d say, you know, when you’re looking for someone else to fix a situation, solve a problem or make a difference, and you keep waiting for the amorphous ‘they’ or ‘them’ to do it, you could wait forever, son. The ‘they’ is you.

Single Line Text

Report this post. Get Ahead by LinkedIn News. Get Ahead by LinkedIn News. Welcome to Stepladder, by Todd Dybas , a new newsletter about career journeys. We all endured twists and turns during our work careers. Experiences, bad and good, shape us as bosses or employees. This newsletter will explore various work paths via deep conversations with newsmakers, business builders, content creators, and more. Leigh Steinberg, 73 | Super Agent, CEO | Los Angeles. Steinberg vaulted from Berkeley Law to one of the top agents in sports. His negotiation and people skills led to more high-profile clients, more fame, and even credit as the inspiration for Tom Cruise’s character in the 1996 Oscar-nominated “ Jerry Maguire .” Steinberg also declared bankruptcy, battled alcoholism, and rebooted his career and persona with recent client success, in addition to ongoing philanthropic efforts. Steinberg’s answers from a conversation with LinkedIn News have been lightly edited for clarity in this as-told-to format. My first job? You’re looking at it. I was brought up with a father who had two core values: One was treasure relationships, especially family. And the second was to try to make a meaningful difference in the world and help people who can’t help themselves. I watched all the lawyer shows, “Perry Mason,” “Judge for the Defense.” I became a dorm counselor in an undergraduate dormitory, and they moved the freshman football team into it. I was working my way through law school, and one of the students was Steve Bartkowski, who became the very first player picked in the 1975 draft. We had other people there too. There was a little bearded fellow who kept everyone’s phones ringing all the time and was doing all sorts of pranks. And his name was Steve, Steve Wozniak. There really was no organized field, no sports agency back then, and Bartowski asked me to represent him. So instead of taking one of the other jobs, I had the first pick overall. The contract was to be signed the next day. We get to the airport and there’s klieg lights flashing in the sky, like for a movie premier, a huge crowd pressed up against the police line at the airport. And the first thing we hear is, “We interrupt the Johnny Carson show to bring you a special news bulletin: Steve Bartowski and his lawyer Leigh Steinberg have just arrived at Atlanta Airport.” And I really saw then the tremendous idol worship and veneration athletes were held in. What Works at Work. I think the most important quality in life or business is the ability to listen. If you can put yourself in another person’s heart and mind and see the world the way they see it, it’s the key in politics. It's the key in recruiting. It’s the key in successful contract negotiation. I thought to get the most creatively out of every person, the key was to explain to them the basic principles and goals of what we were trying to achieve, and then allow them to use their own skills and their own talents to come up with creative solutions. So anybody can take a confused fact situation and go through the relevant rules and dates and principles and dynamics to come up with some way to clarify, improve and enhance that situation. A really brilliant person can come up with a new modality or a new way of solving that problem. Allow those people enough space and autonomy in their tasks that you’re not hovering over them every second. You’re managing so they’re not so afraid to make a mistake that they won’t do something bold, that they won’t use their own personality and initiative. You want them to do that. It may be true that the chief executive has the ability to do every task better than everyone else. Questionable, but it may be true. So the key to expanding and having dominion and the ability to grow is being willing to build the people up around you as superstars and having the world see them as not a diminished replacement for the ability to interact one-on-one with me, but as having their own cache. Living on the Upside. When someone runs up to the table at a dinner or at an airport, or when I’m out in public and they say four words to me or ask me to say them to him, and they start with, “Show…Me…The…” Look, if you’re gonna go out in public then you can’t be Greta Garbo like you wanna be alone here out in public. You need to be gracious. And you never know in a situation where a chance interaction might lead to some great future relationship. You can have power in the world, or you can brag about having power in the world. And if you wanna have true power, praise the other person, let them have the glory. Remember that the question in the negotiation is whose reality is going to prevail? At a certain level, it creates an expectation that the very peak of your performance is gonna be replicated every single time. Right? And anything less than that is… you’re failing. There comes a point at which you're chasing your own past success and so there are levels at which the building of it is more fun. Living on the Downside. In the early 2000s, a series of events happened: my father died of cancer which was really shaking to me because he was a rock in my life. My two boys were diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, which is a rare disease. So they’re both blind. I didn’t have to win everything to be happy. I didn’t have to sign every last client or do every last biggest deal. But in my personal life, somehow I had the illusion I could stop my father from dying of cancer, that I could protect my kids. And that I could have a successful marriage. And when I didn’t, I eventually turned to alcohol to numb the pain from that. And that was about as bad a choice as I could have made. And at one point I crash. I had given up my business. I had given up my office. I’d given up my home and I’m sitting on my father’s desk and my most compelling question was where can I find more vodka? My life had been reduced to that. Addiction is the disease that tells you you don’t have a disease. And it is very hard to break denial. If you keep thinking that’s the last bottom then, you know, things will get worse. The Road Back. I’m pretty public about all these issues in the hope that if someone’s out there struggling and depressed and despondent and confused that it might give them a little hope to see that someone was right where they were and things became a little bit better. I hit 12 1/2 years of continuous sobriety. I found a group of businessmen who would fund me. They were looking at me as a distressed property. And so we slowly built back. We signed Patrick Mahomes and a group of players. But my real comeback, if you will, was being a good parent and available for my kids and maintaining sobriety. Let’s go back to my dad. He had a corollary in how I was raised. And he’d say, you know, when you’re looking for someone else to fix a situation, solve a problem or make a difference, and you keep waiting for the amorphous ‘they’ or ‘them’ to do it, you could wait forever, son. The ‘they’ is you.