Long before she cofounded SMAC Entertainment—a talent and brand management firm with a dynamic roster, including Erin Andrews, Diana Flores, Nikki and Brie Garcia, and Deion Sanders—Constance Schwartz-Morini was already learning how to net game-changing deals.
In her first year of high school, she brokered her first major agreement, negotiating her way out of dissecting a frog in biology class.
But let’s back up a bit. Constance grew up bowling competitively in a neighborhood league from the age of 10. Despite her bowling skills, she opted not to join her high school team, because at the time, she thought she might be “too cool” to lean into it. However, that all changed the day her biology class required students to dissect a frog. “I was like, ‘I can’t do this,’ ” she recalls.
Turns out, her biology teacher also happened to be the high school bowling coach. Constance saw an opening and made an offer: She would join the high school bowling team if she didn’t have to dissect the frog. Her terms were accepted.
“It was a combination of all the things you learn from participating in sports. I literally negotiated my first NIL deal, I guess,” she jokes.
It was an early glimpse of the instincts that would later define her career: strategic thinking, creative problem-solving, and a willingness to speak up for what she wanted.
Sports have been a central part of Constance’s life from a young age. Her athletic journey began on a T-ball field in Yonkers, New York, around the age of 6. “My best friends on my block were playing, and their mom was the coach,” she says. “That’s just what you did.”
T-ball led to softball, which she played through high school. As a Greek Orthodox teen, she also competed in the Greek Orthodox Youth of America’s “Olympics” at Syracuse University each Memorial Day, running track and playing softball alongside peers from across the country.
For Constance, sports gave her far more than bargaining skills. “Sports means teamwork,” she says. “And it’s as important how you take a loss as how you celebrate a win.” Learning how to lose with grace is a lesson she carries into business every day. “Do I get every deal I want? No,” she says. “Does it sting? Yes. But you’ve got to take the loss just like you celebrate the win.”
Constance was never a star athlete, but being part of something bigger than herself was always the most important. “I wasn’t the best player, but I played my role. If that meant crouching as low as I could to make the strike zone smaller, I did it. I was just so happy to be part of the team.”
She began her professional career as an assistant in the NFL in 1991. Over the next decade, she worked across departments, eventually serving as director of television programming and launching the league’s entertainment marketing division. She booked talent for Super Bowl-related events, oftentimes in exchange for helping the artists experience the spectacle firsthand. After a brief stint at a record company, she moved to Los Angeles to join The Firm, a talent management company that brought together experts across film, television, music, marketing, production, and brand strategy. Initially hired for strategic marketing and partnerships, she soon became the lead manager for Snoop Dogg.
Over the next decade, she helped guide Snoop’s brand evolution, produced reality television, and orchestrated major commercial partnerships. When that chapter came to a close, Constance’s next move would be to build something of her own: SMAC Entertainment, the talent management, brand marketing, and production company she cofounded with Michael Strahan in 2011.
SMAC grew from a kitchen-table start-up into a bicoastal powerhouse, representing Hall of Fame athletes, producing premium content, and building businesses that stretch far beyond the playing field. Its client list reads like a highlight reel, with Hall of Famers, Heisman Trophy winners, rising stars, broadcasters, and entrepreneurs.
And while SMAC has evolved and scaled significantly since its beginnings 15 years ago, Constance insists the most important thing hasn’t changed. “Our culture,” she says firmly. “I always wanted this to be a place people enjoyed coming to. I wanted people to know their voice was heard—that ideas don’t only come from the top.”
Many of her team members have been with her for a decade or longer—some since their very first job. She takes a great deal of pride in mentoring former employees who are now running divisions at agencies covering sports and entertainment. She pairs magnetic confidence with a deeply rooted sense of humility. Her clarity of purpose is unmistakable, with a steady North Star that keeps her centered on the people she serves and the stories she helps shape, rather than the spotlight that so often follows.
When asked about responsibility to the next generation, Constance says plainly, “I don’t look at it as a responsibility; it’s just in my DNA. If one conversation can help change someone’s attitude or outlook, it’s worth it.” And being called a “game changer” still feels surreal. “In my mind, I’m just here doing what I’m supposed to do,” she says. “Helping people protect their careers, getting stories out there, or making people’s dreams come true.”
She is realistic and candid about the industry’s lingering “boys club” mentality—but instead of complaining, she strategizes. And to the people who won’t open doors for women, she says with a grin, “I’ll just go buy the building.”
Constance’s Rapid-Fire Advice to Women in Sports
1. Don’t give up.
2. Don’t take “no” personally.
3. Match the work ethic of your leaders.
4. Turn losses into lessons.
Makeup and hair: Shin An
Stylist: Molly Levin
Clothes: KHAITE
