He's not. Most guys know who he is, but ask kids, woman, and people don't follow sports if they know who he is cause I bet you most don't. After you ask them, go ahead and ask them if they know who Phelps, Armstrong, and all the other guys I listed are. Those guys are household names, although Steinbrenner's death is getting more air time than MJ's right now. At least it seems like that.
I just asked a lady who Carl Lewis is. She thought he was a boxer.
What you don't get is there was a time that Steinbrenner was the face of the Yankees. Yeah, they had Reggie Jackson, Don Mattingly, Derek Jeter, etc., but Steinbrenner WAS the Yankees. Much like Jerry Jones is the Cowboys. What sports is today is largely due to Steinbrenner.