10-23-2022 W2W - Flipbook - Page 21
Samantha Sankovich
NFL agent and vice president of
football operations, Steinberg
Sports & Entertainment
Samantha Sankovich has never been far from
sports — or from Baltimore.
The Fallston native played lacrosse at The
John Carroll School and University of Maryland, Baltimore County before starting a shortlived sports broadcasting career. Next came jobs
in the sports business world. Sankovich helped
market ticket sales for the now-shuttered Leffler
advertising agency. She also worked in product
management for Under Armour’s basketball
operations.
In 2017, a conversation with then-Players First Sports CEO Dan Saffron convinced
Sankovich to lead the Baltimore-based agency’s marketing department. A year later, she
was a certified NFL agent, a rarity for a woman
in this male-dominated profession. Sankovich
estimates that, compared with 200-plus male
agents, fewer than 10 women have clients on
active NFL rosters.
“Everybody asks, ‘How do you get into the
business?’ and ‘How do you gain respect?’ and
‘How do you get treated the right way?’” Sankovich said. “It’s an interesting deal to navigate as a
female. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
Sankovich said she’s found more and more
NFL prospects and veterans open to the idea of
having a woman manage their careers. Over the
past year for the Steinberg Sports & Entertainment agency, Sankovich has helped sign standout local players, such as Maryland safety Nick
Cross, a third-round draft pick of the Indianapolis Colts; and former Calvert Hall and Maryland
inside linebacker Chance Campbell, a sixthround pick of the Tennessee Titans.
“When someone would say, ‘Why would
I sign with your agent?’ it’s because my agent
would go above and beyond for you,” said former
Ravens defensive back-linebacker Anthony
Levine Sr., one of Sankovich’s clients. “It’s not
just about wanting to get the good contracts and
all of that. Everyone wants the big contracts;
everyone wants to get paid well. But at the same
time, she knows where your best fit is.”
Sankovich remembers how the 1996 movie
“Jerry Maguire” framed her early notions of
what a sports agent looked like. Now she has
girls and young women asking how they can
follow her path.
“Hopefully, down the road, it’s not a celebratory thing where you have a ‘Women in Sports
Day,’” she said. “It’s, like, every day. I hope we
continue to see that kind of growth.”
— Jonas Shaffer
PHOTO BY
AMY DAVIS
WOMEN TO WATCH | 2022 | 21