How A.J. Brown transformed a little-known book into a bestseller
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Maybe that belt should say, "Always reading." Photo: Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The book that Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was reading on the sidelines during Sunday's playoff win has topped Amazon's bestsellers list.
The big picture: Online searches for Jim Murphy's "Inner Excellence" spiked after Brown was spotted on the sidelines thumbing through a copy of the motivational tome during the Birds-Packers game, per Google Trends data.
- The book was ranked No. 552,709 on Amazon before the game, per Sportico.
Between the lines: The book is a "training manual" for highly competitive athletes on how to succeed under pressure. Murphy, a former minor league baseball player selected by the Chicago Cubs in 1988, interviewed more than 50 sports psychologists and professional and Olympic coaches as part of his research.
- He says on his website he discovered that "heart is the key" to performing under duress.
Zoom in: The Free Library of Philadelphia tells Axios that it doesn't currently carry physical copies of the book but it's received more than 100 "notify me" requests for the audiobook since Brown's viral moment.
- A spokesperson says the library is "working on adding the audiobook version to our Overdrive/Libby accounts, which should be available to borrow by next week."
The intrigue: Some fans wondered whether the temperamental wideout, who has stoked controversy before over his relationship with QB Jalen Hurts, may have been sending a subtle message to his team.
What they're saying: Brown said on X that he has brought the book to every Birds' game and reads it between drives to help him "refocus and lock in."
- He told reporters his teammates call the book "the recipe."
"People tend to create controversy when they don't know the truth," wrote Brown, who had a single catch for 10 yards during the Eagles' 22-10 win over Green Bay.
The other side: Some Eagles fans took the chance to troll Brown's performance in the Amazon review section.
- "A great read if you're 1/3 with 10 yards in the middle of an NFL playoff game, this is the book for you," one reviewer wrote.
Murphy told Sports Illustrated he was at a Dallas hotel watching a replay of the Notre Dame-Penn State college football playoff game when his phone started blowing up with messages.
- "I was like, 'What's with all these messages?' And then I saw what happened and I'm like, 'Oh my God. That's crazy,'" he told the outlet.
The bottom line: Football and books — the recipe for a more learned and literate America.
- We want to know what else is on Brown's must-read list.