Sports agent who inspired Jerry Maguire film files for bankruptcy When the NFL player realised the money was missing he "understandably" fired Mr Steinberg and hired another agent. Mr Steinberg discovered that the rival agency was run by someone who used to work for him, and claims he won a legal challenge against the firm for the way that employee left his company. Since then, he says he has offered to repay the debt plus interest but the lawyers acting on behalf of the rival agent and the NFL player have demanded four times the amount, leaving him "hamstrung." "If I cannot be recertified, I cannot work in the field that I have been trained in, which is to the benefit of this rival agent," he said. Keeping me out of business seems to be a priority above collecting the debt, and although substantial payments have been made, the demand is now four times the original amount. My attempts to rebuild my life have been hamstrung. Before his battle with alcohol, Mr Steinberg had represented Super Bowl quarterbacks Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Aikman and Steve Young plus boxing champion Oscar De La Hoya In 1996, the 62 year-old inspired the character Jerry, played by Tom Cruise, in the hit film Jerry Maguire. Mr Steinberg and Super Bowl quarterback Troy Aikman both had cameos in the film.