Superstition led to Ben Roethlisberger's agent watching 2005 AFC title game from home

Leigh Steinberg, the inspiration for cinematic sports agent Jerry Maguire, has shown dozens of clients the money in his four decades representing professional athletes.

His NFL clientele consists of 62 first-round draft picks, including eight No. 1 overall selections. He has represented 12 Pro Football Hall of Fame players, and his quarterback roster has consisted of Troy Aikman, Warren Moon and Steve Young in previous years and a current star passer in Patrick Mahomes.

Steinberg, though, never has had any of his clients — famous or lesser known — make the kind of demand Ben Roethlisberger did in 2005.

According to Steinberg, Roethlisberger wouldn’t leave tickets for his agent to attend the AFC championship game against the Denver Broncos.

Roethlisberger wasn’t being rude — just a creature of habit. And he wasn’t going to bend his ways for anyone.

“Ben is really superstitious,” Steinberg said. “He has his routine. He drives to the game the same way, goes to the same places afterward. Whatever he did to produce winning became a ritual.”

It worked so well in 2004, Roethlisberger’s rookie season, that he won all 13 regular-season games he started. He also started the divisional playoff win against the New York Jets before suffering his first career loss in the AFC championship game at Heinz Field against the New England Patriots.

In Roethlisberger’s second season, the Steelers memorably won their final eight games in a row to capture the franchise’s fifth Super Bowl title. After the Steelers opened the postseason with wins at Cincinnati and Indianapolis, Steinberg called Roethlisberger to request tickets for the conference title game against the Broncos at Mile High Stadium.

“There was silence,” Steinberg said. “Then he said, ‘You know how I am. You came to the game we played in the AFC championship last year, and we lost.’ ”

Responded Steinberg: “Ben, there were 70,000 other people there.”

Roethlisberger wouldn’t budge.

“He said he had it all figured out,” Steinberg said. “I said, ‘You mean I’m not coming to the AFC championship game?’ He said, ‘You can come to will call, but you’ll be waiting all game.’ ”

And so it was that while Roethlisberger was throwing two first-half touchdown passes to lead the Steelers to a three-touchdown halftime lead and eventual 34-17 win against the Broncos, his agent watched the game on television from his home in Newport Beach, Calif.

Steinberg secured tickets for Super Bowl XL in Detroit. He couldn’t wait to meet up with Roethlisberger after the Steelers’ 21-10 victory against the Seattle Seahawks.

“I said, ‘You just won the Super Bowl, and I’m here, so I guess this means I get to come to more Super Bowls,’ ” Steinberg said.

Roethlisberger’s response?

“Yes,” he told Steinberg, “but never an AFC championship game.”

Ryan Tollner, who worked for Steinberg, eventually became Roethlisberger’s agent for the rest of the quarterback’s career. Steinberg went through legal difficulties, a bankruptcy filing and a long-running battle with alcoholism that cost him his marriage. He was re-certified by the NFL Players Association in 2013, and the biggest coup in his comeback story has been representing Mahomes.

Roethlisberger and Tom Brady will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2027, and Steinberg knows from experience there is room for two star quarterbacks in the same class. Two of his prized clients, Aikman and Moon, were inducted together in 2006.

Steinberg expects Roethlisberger to be headed to Canton in his first year of eligibility.

“The fact that he played 18 seasons for the same team and never had a losing season is extraordinary against the backdrop of the NFL and the parity considerations,” he said. “It’s extraordinary. The system in not built for that to happen. To have that longevity and to lead a franchise that hasn’t had to go through a dramatic rebuilding, that should propel him into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.”