Jerry Maguire is the leading sports agent in the United States, managing some of the most highly rated players. He is set to marry a beautiful smart woman.

However, one night he has a moral epiphany - and he realizes that he is dissatisfied with life because he is living an artificial life filled with lies. He words the revelation he just had into a mission statement, gets it copied and delivers it to all the agents in the firm. All in the course of a few hours, after which he goes back to sleep.

When he wakes up, and remembers what he has done. He calls to get the process stopped - but it is already too late. While everyone appreciates his thoughts, he is soon fired.

He decides to go solo, but none of his clients support him. The only one who sticks by him is Rod Tidwell. No one in the agency comes with him - only Dorothy Boyd, a girl in the accounts department, who secretly admires him. His marriage is also called off, as he breaks up.

Will he be able to recover and get his life back on track?