“It must be the shoes!” is out. “It must be the book!” is in.
Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown unintentionally showed just how much influence NFL stars have when a broadcast camera spotted him reading a book on the sideline during Sunday’s Wild Card game against the Green Bay Packers. The internet promptly spread the word, and fans went scurrying online to get their hands on a copy.
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By Monday morning, Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life had hit No. 1 on Amazon’s Best Sellers ranking, up from No. 552,709 a day before, according to the site’s public data.
Brown said a teammate had recommended the book last year; he now carries it with him on the sidelines for every game.
“My teammates call it ‘the recipe,’” the wideout explained after Philadelphia’s 22-10 win. “It’s got a lot of points in there, it’s a lot of mental game, a lot of mental parts about it, and you know for me this game is mental.”
On X, Brown later added that he uses the paperback “to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game good or bad.” The three-time Pro Bowler had one catch for 10 yards Sunday.
The book was little-known in the mass market before finding itself in the spotlight of the NFL playoffs. Author Jim Murphy was a 13th round draft pick by the Chicago Cubs in 1988, lasting three seasons in the minors. He later pivoted to public speaking.
And while his 2020 release wasn’t a breakout hit—it had about 300 Amazon reviews on Sunday and limited distribution elsewhere—it has found an audience among athletes, with several golfers lending supportive blurbs for the book jacket.
The book’s staying power remains to be seen. The fact the title ranked near the bottom of the top 100 of the Kindle sales ranking while sitting atop the physical list likely indicates some number of fans acquired it primarily as a prop as opposed to actually wanting to read it. Sales tracking sites suggest prime real estate on the ebook store chart can require twice as many purchases compared to the paper ranking.
But Sunday’s sales explosion still offers the latest proof that sign-off from top athletes, and connection to their on-field performance, can trigger sales tsunamis. And not just in the performance gear category; this time seven years ago, Amazon was hit by a similar wave of Philly shoppers, who purchased every German Shepherd dog mask the site offered after Chris Long wore one postgame to represent how the team was the underdog of the 2017-18 playoffs.
The Eagles went on to an unlikely Super Bowl victory that year.
“I think this is the most read book in Philadelphia,” Good Day Philly host Alex Holley said at the start of the show Monday morning.
Brown has been open about his mental health journey in the past. In 2021, he shared that he’d previously dealt with suicidal ideation and that he regularly spoke with a therapist. “It’s OK to talk to someone,” he said at the time. “Seek help. You have to take care of your brain just like you take care of your body.”
The Sunday afternoon slot on Wild Card weekend is one of the most watched TV windows all year. In 2024, the Packers and Cowboys drew an average audience of 40 million to Fox in that spot. It further helped Inner Excellence’s cause that Green Bay failed to mount a comeback Sunday, giving Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady time to discuss the book in the announcers’ booth.
“Have you read Inner Excellence yet?” Brady asked.
“I mean, I feel like I’m going to on the way home,” Burkhardt responded.
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