Steiner’s riches enabled him to build a nearly 17,000-square-foot house in Scarsdale, N.Y., for his wife, Mara, and his 23-year-old son and 20-year-old daughter. It has an indoor basketball court and a single bowling lane, he said, to commemorate a sport he played with his father.

One vast room contains Steiner’s personal collection of memorabilia, including an armoire filled with trading card sets; a stack of old issues of Sports Illustrated; Rivera’s cleats and outfield shagging glove; and an old Shea Stadium ticket dispenser that Steiner said contained the stubs to every game he had ever attended. From several drawers he pulled out albums filled with letters of gratitude from sports figures like Billie Jean King, Lou Holtz and Joe Torre, and photos of him with myriad stars.

“Not bad for a kid from Brooklyn,” he said as he flipped the pages. It is one of his favorite refrains.

His success has come with criticism. He has sued some clients for failing to meet their obligations and been sued by others, accused of not meeting his. Most were settled quickly or dismissed. He explained that he does not want the publicity of a trial or extensive discovery if he can end litigation quickly, saying, “I’m part of a big company, and I’m partnered with the Yankees.”

While none of his competitors would provide extensive details about their dealings with Steiner, and preferred not to speak on the record, some privately said that he was a relentless competitor too dependent on his Yankee business and that he pushed hard to dominate his markets. Steiner denied that he wanted to overwhelm his rivals but he freely conceded: “The rap on me is I’ll do anything to win. I’ve probably calmed down. I won’t do anything at all costs.”

Still, he said, some of his rivals were envious of him and his influence in the industry. Some also do business with him and he with them.

While Steiner’s Yankee connections have produced an unquestioned success, he has not been able to replicate that with other teams. His Mets contract unraveled amid rancor with Jeff Wilpon, the team’s chief operating officer; Steiner said he was happy it ended. Deals with the Mets, the Cubs, the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Dodgers did not last long or soured. His venture with the University of Alabama ended, and a recent one with Notre Dame is phasing out. His agreement with the Boston Red Sox — one that is memorialized in a team-signed Champagne bottle from the 2007 World Series championship — ended because of a conflict with another vendor. The team also would not let him remove and sell home plates from Fenway Park.