This week I sit down with the iconic Constance Schwartz Morini who built a sports empire with Michael Strahan, and now manages some of the biggest sports figures in the world including “Coach Prime”, Erin Andrews, Coach Emma Hayes (Head coach of the United States women's national soccer team), Stefon Diggs and Strahan himself.
Constance Schwartz-Morini has spent three decades redefining the intersection of sports, entertainment, and culture. As co-founder and CEO of SMAC Entertainment, she manages icons like Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders, Erin Andrews, Stefon Diggs, DK Metcalf, Emma Hayes, and Michael Strahan, plus rising global stars like Diana Flores, the Mexican flag football phenom now headed to the 2028 Olympics.
She’s also produced three #1 Prime Video hits, built one of the most influential women-led agencies in sports, and wrote the modern playbook for how athletes become brands. Known for championing female talent and mentoring future execs (SMAC’s EVP started as her intern), Constance continues to shape how culture, commerce, and competition collide.
Our conversation is below:
AvA: You’ve built a career that’s redefined how athletes and entertainers navigate their brands. If you had to explain your role in the simplest terms, how would you define it?
Schwartz Morini: I started SMAC to help give athletes and entertainers a path to being multihyphenates, grow their brand off the field and reach new audiences – whether it be through new business ventures, clothing lines, consumer products, broadcasting, touring and more. As for my day to day, this involves managing some of the most iconic figures in the industry – from Deion Sanders to Erin Andrews, among others – and helping them continue growing their brand and relevance beyond their core job. I always say, I'm either the dream maker or the dream killer, because it's my job to poke holes in any business or partnership ideas to ensure that everything my clients do is authentic to their individual career, passion and interests.
In addition to management, at SMAC, we’re very passionate about telling impactful stories via our production arm. I serve as an executive producer on all of our projects, which includes both scripted and non-scripted content. Some of our recent projects include “Evolution of the Black Quarterback,” three seasons of “Coach Prime,” “It’s in the Game: Madden NFL,” “The Underdoggs” feature film, and many more.
AvA: What was your very first role in sports/entertainment, and how did that experience shape how you approach the business today?
Schwartz Morini: I got my start as an assistant in corporate sponsorship at NFL properties, which was the marketing arm for all the teams in the league at the time. My boss was Maureen Rosen, the director of corporate sponsorships as well as Jim Schwebel the VP of the department. Not only did i have the privilege to work with a trailblazer of a woman, but she was the woman. Maureen took me under her wing, mentored me, and gave me such confidence that I could also make my mark on the industry. She always encouraged me to do more than my actual job (as long as I could get my core work done of course), and having her as a role model for me at such a young age was hugely transformative for me.
Not only was Maureen a woman in a man’s world, but she uplifted other women, which is an attitude I have maintained in my own career, both internally with our employees at SMAC and externally with the clients we take on. It’s so important to lift as you climb – I want to do as much as I can to set up future leaders for success.
Photo Credit: Boardroom
AvA: From Deion Sanders to Erin Andrews to Diana Flores and Michael Strahan, you’ve helped shape careers across sports, media, and culture. What was the first big “pivot” or risk in your own career that set you on this path?
Schwartz Morini: Honestly, starting SMAC Entertainment. My friends and family would always acknowledge my entrepreneurial spirit and encourage me to go out on my own, so when I was fired from the management company I was working at, which was devastating at the time, this turned out to be the best thing for my career. As I started interviewing and deciding what I wanted to do next, I realized that every company I looked at was one dimensional. I wanted to go somewhere where I could combine everything I had worked on for the past 20 years – sponsorships, sports marketing, management, production and more. That didn’t exist at the time, so I took a chance and all my savings and started SMAC Entertainment. And here we are nearly 15 years later!
AvA: You’ve been a champion for women in sports long before the current wave of fandom and investment. What advice would you give to someone who wants to be early on the next movement?
Schwartz Morini: You have to lean into things you’re truly passionate about. Authenticity will take you so far, and that’s the same advice I give to my clients in terms of endeavors they’d like to pursue. It’s truly our guiding principle for success at SMAC. Let authenticity be your North Star.
In terms of getting in early on the next movement, I always say, if there's no room at the table, or if the table doesn’t exist yet, go and build your own. And you certainly don’t have to do it alone – find and join forces with others in the industry who share your vision for the next wave.
AvA: SMAC has a leadership team where women are driving the strategy and revenue. What do you think separates leaders who open the door for others from those who pull the ladder up behind them?
Schwartz Morini: Strong leaders own up to what they don’t know, and ask for help when they need it. It’s okay to not know everything. At SMAC, teamwork is a necessity. When it comes to the clients, it doesn’t matter if someone is responsible for them or not - we consider them a client of the agency, and everyone puts in the effort to help generate success. As I mentioned, a good leader will also lift as they climb and bring others up with them, giving them guidance and the opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have. Think about it…if you’re climbing and not taking people with you, what's that journey worth if there’s no one to experience it with? And at the same time, I might be climbing, but I need others to give me a hand up if I can’t get higher by myself. We depend on each other.
AvA: Mentorship seems central to you, even your EVP started as your intern. What’s your philosophy on spotting and nurturing talent, and how can young people signal they’re worth investing in?
Schwartz Morini: At the end of the day, I’m willing to give anyone a shot. But you have to earn it and put the work in. Even with how much SMAC has grown over the last 15 years, I still always tell my team to “hustle like you’re broke.” Hard work DOES pay off!
Multiple current execs at SMAC started as interns with me and helped build the company from the ground up, shaping our business into what it is today. Now, they lead departments; Jose Diaz oversees the talent management division as well as brand partnerships and communications, and Koral Chen oversees our licensing and commercial business, managing several consumer lines, including Michael Strahan’s clothing lines and WEAR by EA. They’ve been crucial to SMAC’s expansion over the years, and I couldn’t do this without them.
Beyond SMAC, I’ve also loved working with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles (BBBSLA), serving as a Women in Entertainment mentor for many years. I started mentoring Laura Espitia when she was a junior in high school and she is now 27, managing The Marías. It’s been such a treat to guide her over the years and see her already achieve so many of her career dreams. She inspires me!
AvA: For our readers early in their own careers who feel like they’re stuck in the weeds, what’s one thing they can start doing today that will help them stand out and move up?
Schwartz Morini: Think about “when,” not “if.” So much of success is determined by your outlook and your attitude – when I close that deal, when I get that job...Things will be hard, and you will fail and get rejected, but rejection is redirection. It’s very likely that at some point in your career journey you will work with or for people who are really unkind and unfair. Your situation may seem bleak in the moment – especially if you have to quit – but I promise you will tough it out, survive and come out stronger on the other side. You’ll promise yourself to never treat anyone that way, and that mean, rude person will always be in your rearview mirror.
Also, if you’re really passionate about something and you’re confident it will work, don’t take no for an answer. Just keep looking for the right people who share your vision. When Erin Andrews and I had the vision for a female sports apparel line, it was comical how many “nos” we got. But we knew the market opportunity was there and only growing, so we got the right team together and made it happen. Now, it’s one of the top brands for female sports brands, and it wouldn’t exist today if we stopped at the first few “nos.”
AvA: Most memorable projects you’ve been involved in?
Schwartz Morini: Snoop Dogg’s Fatherhood on E!
AvA: Favorite doc or film?
Schwartz Morini: Pretty Woman.
AvA: Person whose career you admire most?
Schwartz Morini: Condoleezza Rice.
AvA: Who was on your Spotify Wrapped last year? Who is going to be on it this year?
Schwartz Morini: This year Jelly Roll….Last year lots of 90’s hip hop
AvA: If you weren’t working in sports/entertainment, what would you be doing?
Schwartz Morini: No other option!
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