Leigh Steinberg discusses severity of head injuries in the NFL

Leigh Steinberg has been raising flags about the severity of head injuries in the NFL long before it became the big issue it is today. Now the concussion conversation is about to get even bigger...with a new movie coming out starring Will Smith.

Fun facts about Leigh Steinberg (Source: Wikipedia)

Leigh William Steinberg is an American sports agent. During his 41-year career, Steinberg has represented over 300 professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, boxing, and Olympic sports. He has represented the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft a record eight times, a milestone unmatched within the sports industry.

Steinberg is often credited as the real life inspiration of the sports agent from the film Jerry Maguire.

For many years Steinberg and Jeff Moorad had a sports agency partnership (Steinberg, Moorad & Dunn or "SMD"). They sold that firm in October 1999 to Assante Sports Management Group, a Canadian financial-management firm, for a reported $120 million. Assante acquired several other sports agencies. In February 2002, David Dunn left SMD to open Athletes First, taking about 50 NFL players with him and opening offices about a mile from Steinberg's in Newport Beach, Calif. Extensive litigation ensued involving Dunn and Assante.

Steinberg has successfully negotiated over $2 billion in contracts for players including Troy Aikman, Steve Young, and Ryan Leaf. He has represented the No. 1 pick overall in the NFL draft a record eight times, in addition to representing over 60 other first round draft picks in the NFL.

Leigh Steinberg's book 'The Agent' is in bookstores now.

Follow Leigh Steinberg on Twitter: @leighsteinberg