Teri Patterson Smith
Age: 39
Organization: NFL Players Association
Title: Deputy COO and special counsel
Where born: Paterson, N.J.
Education: Howard University (B.B.A.),
Columbia Law School
Family: Husband, Paul Smith IV
Favorite way to unwind: Reading.
Cause supported: Girl Scouts.
Most thrilling/adventurous thing I’ve ever done: Walking the rope bridges in Ghana over Kakum National Park 100 feet in the air.
Person in the industry I’d most like to meet: Michael Strahan.
If I could change jobs with anyone for a day, it would be: Oprah Winfrey, or anyone who conducts sports/celebrity interviews.
2015 will be a good year if: I bring in 40 with bang, and this honor is just the start.
My fellow Forty Under 40 class members would be surprised to know that I: Hated football in college. It wasn’t until I was trying to fit in at the law firm that I watched “SportsCenter” until I could name a player on each NFL team just to be conversant. And then the unexpected happened: I fell in love with the game.
KEVIN A. KOSKI / NFLPA
any attorneys are known for their ability to make arguments. Teri Patterson Smith, NFL Players Association deputy COO and special counsel, is known for her ability to bring people together as well.
Around the office, NFLPA Managing Director and COO Ira Fishman calls her “the glue” that binds the union staff.
NFLPA Executive Director DeMaurice Smith hired Patterson Smith in August 2009 as the NFLPA’s first female attorney. She was hired as special counsel and then promoted in August 2010 to her additional role with the players
{podcast}
SBJ Podcast:
Forty Under 40 editor Mark Mensheha and Executive Editor Abraham Madkour discuss this year's class, some of the more interesting stories in it and how the selection process works.
union.
“She has transformed our staff structure and imposed overall operations not as a sports executive but as a business executive,” said Smith via email. “Teri possesses the qualifications that any CEO would want: She is brilliantly smart, an analytical problem-solver and very personable to the team.”
During the NFL lockout of 2011, it was Patterson Smith who reached out not just to NFL players but also to their wives, girlfriends and families to provide updates and support. Last year, she led the union’s team that held discussions with the NFL about a personal conduct policy, and it is Patterson Smith who is leading the effort on the NFLPA’s response plan to the domestic violence problem.
Additionally, she is the lead union executive in charge of the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, which has been held annually in the Los Angeles area since 2012.
While many attorneys are quick to act and to speak, Patterson Smith’s position is to be thoughtful and take time to let thoughts percolate. “My husband says I’m a slow brew,” she said.
— Liz Mullen
