Victory in Court Exacts a Price From Steinberg

Show him the money!

A Los Angeles jury awarded NFL super-agent Leigh Steinberg $44.6 million in damages Friday after ruling that his former business partner, David Dunn, conspired to heist his high-profile clients.

Steinberg, for years viewed as an idealist who brought a human touch to an otherwise soulless industry, now has a courtroom victory -- and a shredded reputation.

There was a time Steinberg was the most powerful agent in football. Almost every quarterback of consequence was a client, among them Troy Aikman, Warren Moon, Steve Young and Drew Bledsoe. ESPN would set up shop in his offices on draft day, and invariably he’d be there entertaining the top college prospect and the player’s family. He had Aikman endow a scholarship at UCLA and Young do the same at Brigham Young. He was all about the people. He cared.

That was his image, one he had cultivated since his days as student-body president at Cal, when he set out to reshape one small corner of the sports world. In the aftermath of a remarkably messy trial, it’s hard to tell what’s sincere and what’s a sham.

Is Steinberg the man who put character above everything or the binge drinker who took credit for the achievements of everyone around him? Is he the consummate protector who fought to educate the football world about concussions or the bumbler who once fell down drunk in a hotel lobby and told a male employee: “I want to eat your leg”?

Is he neither? Or both?

“Did I have a drinking problem? Yeah, I did, and I conquered it,” Steinberg said. “But so did George Bush, and he’s running the country.”

The empire Steinberg now runs is significantly smaller than it once was. He has 26 players, down from a high of 90. He still has some household names -- Ricky Williams, Edgerrin James, Kordell Stewart, Mark Brunell -- but he may never have a Sunday like the one a few years ago, when 14 of the quarterbacks playing that afternoon were his clients. He no longer scares the competition.

“Would I worry about going up against him for a player? Never,” one agent said. “There was a time I would.”

When Steinberg talks about his post-verdict future, he talks about a smaller, more manageable business. Ninety clients is too many, he says now, a much better size is 40 or 45. He speaks of getting back to his roots, back to his days fresh out of Berkeley.

“There’s an aspect of this that’s fun and challenging and invigorating,” he said.

His longtime business partner, Jeff Moorad, says the same thing.

“Our commitment to serve our athletes is as strong as it’s ever been,” Moorad said.

For Steinberg, the challenge is hanging onto the clients he has and rehabilitating his image enough to attract more. He was in Miami on Friday, helping Dolphin running back Williams with his charity.

“I’ve never claimed to be a perfect human being, nor do I think anyone else is who represents athletes,” Steinberg said. “But when it comes to the representation of athletes, for 27 years our clients have gotten the absolute best.”

There’s no denying Steinberg’s image is seriously wounded. And he probably won’t see that mountain of cash. Most of the money will go to Assante Corp., parent company of Steinberg & Moorad Sports Management. What the verdict does, more than anything, is send the message that a renegade employee can’t destabilize an agency by walking away with all the cornerstone clients.

Even though Steinberg won Friday, the trial represents a devastating loss. Or, in the words of fellow NFL agent James Gould: “If you believe what you’re fighting for is worth it, sometimes you’ve got to get naked in front of the world. Welcome to your $44 million.”

Spinning His Wheels

Marcellus Wiley, a Pro Bowl defensive end for the San Diego Chargers, has made some big plays this season -- including stripping the ball from Marshall Faulk last Sunday when the St. Louis running back was about to score -- but he’s stuck on four sacks. Wiley, who attended St. Monica High, reached double digits in sacks the last two seasons. He’s coming off a groin injury that kept him out of three games. Still, it frustrates him that sacks are only trickling in.

“You kind of rev your engine up and you’re staying in park,” he said. “You feel like you went zero to 60, but all you did was rev the RPM up and make a lot of noise.”

Thinking Inside the Box

Could the Arena Football League wind up, say, replacing NFL Europe? It isn’t a bad idea, considering the indoor game doesn’t need as large a crowd to pack a house, and the up-tempo version might be more appealing to fans who didn’t grow up watching the NFL.

“If 15,000 people show up at an NFL game, it’s an embarrassment,” AFL Commissioner David Baker said. “If 15,000 people come to an arena game, it’s a party.”

Baker and Casey Wasserman, owner of the L.A. Avengers, as well as other AFL executives, stopped by The Times for lunch Friday with a group of editors and writers.

Around the League

AFC EAST -- In a Q&A; that ran Friday in The Times, Joe Namath intimated that the New York Jets, who have the league’s highest payroll, are overpaying some players. And he’s right. For instance, running back Curtis Martin is the NFL’s second-highest-paid player this season, making $13.5 million, yet he’s in danger of falling short of 1,000 yards rushing for the first time in his career. Martin has 463 yards in 124 carries, ranking him 30th among running backs.... Romantic fool, that Chad Pennington. He took his playbook along on his honeymoon cruise so he could study the West Coast offense as he and his bride toured the Caribbean. The dedication is paying off. The third-year quarterback has led the Jets to consecutive victories, and the team has gone from an all-but-kaput 1-4 to 4-5 and a game out of first place in the division. Pennington’s success has to make Bill Parcells feel good. Parcells might be a great coach, but a lot of people think he’s only an average judge of talent. He had 31 picks from 1997 through ‘99, and only four are still on the Jet roster.

AFC NORTH -- The good news for folks in Cincinnati is Sunday’s game against Cleveland is sold out. The bad news is it’s just the eighth sellout in 21 games since the opening of Paul Brown Stadium. Three of those sellouts were for Brown games, three for Steeler games. The other two sellouts -- against Chicago and Tennessee last season -- were due to walk-up crowds.... Heinz Field is a beautiful stadium, but the grass playing surface is sub-par. That has Steeler owner Dan Rooney mulling a switch to artificial turf, perhaps FieldTurf, which is used in the new stadiums in Seattle and Detroit. Eleven NFL teams, including the Steelers, use it for their practice fields.... Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter on how Atlanta was able to overcome a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter and ultimately walk away with a tie: “I can’t put my thumb on it.” That’s OK, Joey, we’ll settle for a finger.

AFC SOUTH -- Indianapolis running back Edgerrin James missed the last two games because of a hamstring injury. So he was on the sideline last Sunday when little-known James Mungro made his NFL debut against Philadelphia, rushing for 114 yards and two touchdowns. But James is itching to get back for a lot of reasons. For one, he earns a $1.38-million bonus if he reaches 1,000 yards rushing. He needs 477 more, which works out to $2,893 per remaining yard. In other words, move over Mungro.... In their first five games, the Tennessee Titans ventured into the red zone 14 times and scored 12 touchdowns (85.7%). In their last four games, they’ve only scored six touchdowns in 17 red-zone opportunities (35.3%). But here’s the strange part: The Titans started 1-4 and, even though their red-zone percentages have nose-dived, have won their last four.... Jacksonville plays at Houston on Sunday, meaning Jaguar Coach Tom Coughlin will be matched against his former defensive coordinator, Dom Capers, and offensive coordinator, Chris Palmer. Capers is coach of the Texans, and Palmer is their offensive coordinator. Those three men were the first head coaches for the last four expansion teams: Capers (Carolina, Houston), Palmer (Cleveland) and Coughlin (Jacksonville).

AFC WEST -- The Denver Broncos are starting to hate Mondays. And can you blame them? During their two Monday night appearances this season, the Broncos have been outscored, 52-10, in the first half and 68-33 overall.... He might be the best tight end in the business, but Kansas City’s Tony Gonzalez was limited to one catch for six yards at San Francisco. Gonzalez griped he was being held by 49er linebacker Julian Peterson. The complaints resonated with Chief Coach Dick Vermeil, who said of Gonzalez, “People grab and hold him so much coming off the line of scrimmage. It’s not called, and [officials] will say, ‘Well, he’s not the primary receiver.’ And I’ll say, ‘He might have been, or he very well could have been.’ ” The league might fine Gonzalez for shooting off his mouth, but, with his $10-million signing bonus, he can afford it.... Jerry Rice is taking pains to respect the territory of Tim Brown, the focal point of Oakland’s offense before Rice crossed the bay. “He knows the offense in and out, and he’s the type to basically keep everybody pretty level,” said Rice, who leads the team with 60 catches for 781 yards with five touchdowns. “Me, I have a lot of years of experience, but I can get a little hot at times. He’s the captain of the ship.” Maybe so, but as long as Brown has 10 fewer catches and three fewer touchdowns than Rice, it ain’t the Love Boat.

NFC EAST -- In speaking with Indianapolis reporters this week, Dallas Coach Dave Campo was especially chatty. “Is it cold up there?” he asked on a conference call. “It’s a little nippy down here. Matter of fact, it’s real cold in this building. They’re shutting the heat off on us.” And all that implies.... Tiki Barber leads the Giants in rushing yards (672) and receptions (47). The last Giant to lead the team in both categories at the end of the season was Joe Dawkins in 1974.... Philadelphia’s defense racked up 24 sacks for minus 138 yards in the Eagles’ last three wins. In losses to Tennessee, Jacksonville and Indianapolis, they collected a total of two sacks for minus 2 yards.

NFC NORTH -- For the third time this season, Green Bay safety Marques Anderson was selected the league’s defensive rookie of the week. He returned an interception for a touchdown against Detroit last Sunday, having already scored on an errant Joey Harrington pass earlier in the season. Anderson, a former UCLA standout whose successes were chronicled in this space last week, is a leading candidate for defensive rookie of the year, especially now that Carolina’s Julius Peppers is serving a four-game suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.... Not a happy homecoming for Detroit receiver Bill Schroeder, an former Packer who dropped three passes in his first return to Lambeau Field last Sunday. The second pass glanced off his hands and was picked off by Anderson. The final gaffe: A ball slipped right through Schroeder’s grasp in the end zone on the last play of the game, a would-be cosmetic touchdown in a 40-14 laugher. “That was one of the most embarrassing days of my career,” said Schroeder, who played for the Packers from 1997 through last season.

NFC SOUTH -- New Orleans quarterback Aaron Brooks is gaining a reputation as one of the league’s best closers. When the Saints came from behind to beat Carolina last Sunday, it was the eighth fourth-quarter comeback of Brooks’ career. And it was the fifth time he has orchestrated a game-winning drive on his team’s final offensive series. “He’s done that since he’s been in the league,” New Orleans Coach Jim Haslett said. “He doesn’t get rattled.” ... On the flip side is Carolina, which has lost five games this season after leading in the fourth quarter. So surrendering 14 points to the Saints in the final 31 seconds was nothing new for the Panthers. The club won’t be hiring any sports psychologists to lecture the players, though. “You could bring in psychologists until the cows come home,” quarterback Rodney Peete told reporters. “It’s definitely a mental game, don’t get me wrong. You have to have the mental toughness to play this game and be able to find a way to go a little bit extra in the fourth quarter to make those plays.... But until every person looks themselves in the mirror and says, ‘Look, I’m going to get it done,’ that psychologist isn’t going to be able to penetrate anybody.”

NFC WEST -- Seattle receiver Darrell Jackson, who suffered seizures in the locker room last month after absorbing a helmet-to-helmet hit against Dallas, has not returned to full-speed action. He practiced a bit this week, but the Seahawks don’t expect him back in full until next week at earliest.... After botching a snap on the Seahawks’ 10-yard line during a 27-6 loss last Sunday, Arizona center Jason Starkey attributed the miscue to a sprinkler head that snagged the ball. The Cardinals have lost three in a row. “If we don’t start winning, I’ll be in charge of watering that field,” Coach Dave McGinnis said, only half-joking. “I’ll need to know where those sprinkler heads are.”