Jeff Moorad, Millennium Hall of Fame

Like any young practitioner, Jeff Moorad had his mind set on

running his own sports law firm while building a client base of major

league baseball players.

Then, later that year, Moorad recalled “two big breaks” which allowed

him to eventually become one of America’s top sports attorneys.

“First, I ended up representing five of the 20 players on the 1984

U.S. Olympic baseball team, like Cory Snyder, Will Clark and Chris

Gywnn,” Moorad said, “and also that year I met Leigh Steinberg.”

Moorad, a UCLA graduate, didn’t accept Steinberg’s initial offers. “I

was focused on developing a baseball practice, but then I came to my

senses a few months later,” he said. “Even my conservative father said

maybe you ought to call that Steinberg fellow back. I finally did and

we’ve been together ever since.”

Steinberg and Moorad, who both live in Newport Beach and practice out

of Fashion Island, have become Hollywood darlings, cracking the

entertainment world’s big-screen bonanza, serving as technical

consultants and/or playing bit roles in “For Love of the Game” and “Jerry

Maguire,” parts of which were filmed in Moorad’s office, including the

now-famous Show Me The Money scene.

In the latest Kevin Costner baseball movie, “For Love of the Game,”

Moorad, who will attend the premiere tonight in Century City, has a small

part on the silver screen.

Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Sports by The Sporting

News in each of the last five years, Moorad has a client baseball list

that includes Clark, Ivan Rodriguez, Darin Erstad, Matt Williams and

Shawn Green. His firm also represents myriad NFL quarterbacks, including

Troy Aikman of the Dallas Cowboys and Steve Young of the San Francisco

49ers.

“At this point,” Moorad said, “I feel that I have the best job in

America. I represent athletes 24 hours a day and have Leigh Steinberg as

my partner.”

Moorad, whose first client was former Seattle Mariner pitcher Calvin

Jones in 1984, has been a managing partner of the firm for 10 years. A

third partner, David Dunn, is about to come aboard, forming Steinberg,

Moorad & Dunn. The firm has negotiated $2 billion in sports contracts,

and in the last six years, has represented about 140 athletes.

Moorad, who played baseball and basketball growing up and was a huge

NBA fan, decided in 1977, his junior year at UCLA, to become a sports

agent. He visited legendary former UCLA Athletic Director J.D. Morgan and

told him of his career desire. Morgan put him in touch with Sam Gilbert,

a longtime supporter and friend of the Bruins’ athletic programs, and who

later volunteered to represent several former UCLA basketball players,

including negotiating the first pro contracts for Lew Alcindor and Keith

Wilkes.

“(Gilbert) did it completely out of the goodness of his heart,” Moorad

said. “He loved the players and he loved (Coach John Wooden’s) program. I

was 21 at the time, and here I was, sitting in his penthouse office in

the San Fernando Valley, listening to Sam Gilbert weave these amazing

tails from his own representation experiences, and it was fascinating. I

realized that one day, that’s exactly what I wanted to do.”

After law school, Moorad went to work for a traditional litigation law

firm for one year, then began to pursue his dream. He set up shop in a

one-bedroom apartment on Balboa Island and “called myself a sports

lawyer. The big question in those days -- and the one I lived in mortal

fear of -- was, ‘So who are your clients?’ And it took some period of

time before I had those answers,” he said.

Moorad, the latest member of the Daily Pilot Sports Hall of Fame,

celebrating the millennium, enjoys pro football like a fan, but treats

baseball like a business. “In baseball, I have a hard time remaining

objective in any level,” he said.

For months, the Steinberg & Moorad firm has been for sale, and

speculation has it the two super agents are close to agreeing on a

nine-figure deal with ties to the entertainment industry.

Moorad is active at Mariners Church, Big Canyon Country Club, and

UCLA, is involved with the Young Presidents Organization (California

Coast Chapter) and serves on the board of trustees at Villanova

University Law School, where he graduated. Moorad also serves on the

board of directors for the Newport Sports Museum.

Moorad and his wife, Jan, funded an athletic scholarship at for UCLA

five years. They have two boys: Justin, 5, and Christopher, 3, with a

third child expected in March.