Steve J. Kauffman

Background and education
Steve holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Temple University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Early career
Kauffman began working in the sports industry in the 1970’s, at the age of 27, providing accounting and legal services for such clients as Muhammad Ali and basketball Hall of Famers Julius Erving and Charles Barkley. He subsequently founded KSMG where he represented a number of high profile professional coaches. Kauffman negotiated many notable contracts, including the record-setting Jon Koncak deal, making the journeyman center the 5th highest paid basketball player at that time. Kauffman also invented the 'player opt out' and 'love of the game' clauses, both common in modern professional athlete contracts.

Steve Kauffman also served as the Commissioner of the Eastern Basketball Association, which expanded under his leadership and became known as the Continental Basketball Association (CBA). The CBA is the oldest professional basketball league in the World.

Current work
Kauffman's current NBA head coaching clients include Mark Jackson, Tyrone Corbin and Monty Williams. He also represents numerous assistant coaches. Front office clients include Rod Higgins, John Hammond, Ed Stefanski David Morway and Donnie Walsh. Other notable past and present clients include Paul Westphal, Eric Snow, Michael Malone, and Dominique Wilkins. College basketball coaching clients include Dave Pilipovich, Russell Turner and Justin Hutson.

Personal life
A Philadelphia native, Steve relocated to Malibu, California in 1991. He and his wife Jan have five children and two black standard poodles.