Jerry Maguire: Movie Reaction and Review

Jerry Maguire: An Inside Look
Reaction Paper

Angelica Merlino

Jerry Maguire is a sports agent for Sports Management International (SMI). The film begins with Jerry writing a mission statement to guide the agency in the right direction. His goal is to have fewer clients and less money. Ironically, Jerry is dismissed from SMI due to his mission statement with only one loyal client, Rod Tidwell, and one employee, Dorothy Boyd. Jerry’s mentor states, “The key to this business is personal relationships.” Jerry Maguire describes the relationship that should be between a client and an agent: a personal one.
The movie Jerry Maguire is inspired by the life of sports agent, Leigh Steinberg. Leigh Steinberg felt guilty for robbing athletes of their money through lies and deceit. He is fully aware that the sport industry is a business and the primary concern is money. However, he believes this view is tainted, and he wanted to inspire a change. In turn, he became a leader by invoking a change no matter what the consequences. Throughout his career, he lost a lot due to his visions, but in the end he was able to regain his legacy. To this day, he is considered one of the most successful sports agents.
As we know, as businesses grow and reach higher levels they expand to increase awareness and promote to areas they are not as visible. The larger these corporations get the more revenue they bring in. Once they reach this level, people tend to forget how they got there in the first place. Now the sports agent is more entitled to the client bringing in the most money and no longer as concerned with his first client. The sports industry is a major player as a business entity.
On the other side, the athletes want an agent that will generate them the most money. In Jerry Maguire, Rod tells Jerry to “show me the money!” Most athletes are motivated by the millions of dollars they gain through sports contracts and endorsement deals. Maybe some want to be compensated for the sacrifices they made to get to the big leagues. As shown on the documentary, Schooled, college athletes receive scholarships for their athletic accomplishments rather than money. Signing with a major sports corporation and agent is just as important to the athlete as it is to the sport agent. Many athletes were hesitant to sign with Jerry Maguire as an entrepreneur because they were afraid to lose their fame. However, wouldn’t your loyalty reside with your sports agent and not the firm?
The firm selects the sport agents that will best represent their company. Therefore, they will choose the sport agents with the most skills and knowledge necessary to inspire the athletes to sign with them. The current management style being used is process management rather than human relations management. Both the athlete and the agent are basing their decision off of statistics and talent. Many beginner athletes elect agents on criteria such as their number of successful athletes the agent represents. Instead of considering does this agent simply view me as a dollar sign and has my best interests at heart since agents are commission-based they are motivated by the top athletes.
Along with Rod Tidwell, Jerry had one more potential client, Frank Cushman. Jerry was shortsighted to see that Frank already signed with Bob Sugar of SMI, and Bob Sugar declares, “This is business not friendship.” It’s important to maintain a business relationship as much as a personal relationship. There should be an invisible line initiating this business relationship is becoming too friendly. Agents should be personal enough with their clients that they know their wants, needs, and desires. Yet, it is unnecessary to become a friend by associating with their family members and going out with them outside of business related issues.
Jerry Maguire poses an unrealistic view since he was able to focus on only one client. This allowed for Jerry to put all of his efforts into one person. That one person consumed all their attention and time. In reality, sport agents will have various, diverse clients that will require more energy out of the sports agent and less time for each client. When Jerry finally succeeds in signing a contract for Rod with the Arizona Cardinals, Rod responds with I thank my agent, Jerry Maguire, and other athletes turn asking why don’t we have that relationship? In most circumstances, this relationship doesn’t exist in reality. Mostly everyone is overly concerned with the monetary value and not the personal value.
In conclusion, a personal relationship in the business of sports is very difficult to maintain. It is possible, but the agent is sacrificing money and fame. In addition, the sports agent will most likely not be selected by a big sports firm due to the lack of clients. Process based management and human relations management need to be connected to the point that the management is not lost nor the personal relationship is affected. The athletes will feel more important and linked to the agent and/or company when human relations management is performed. Since the sports industry is a business, a business relationship should be between a sports agent and his client(s) with respect to their clients’ personal needs and wants. All in all, the movie Jerry Maguire is unrealistic and does not occur very frequently in the real world.