AJ Brown’s sideline book soars to the top seller on Amazon

PHILADELPHIA — Step aside, Oprah.

Philadelphia Eagles star wide receiver AJ Brown could launch his own book club after a little sideline reading skyrocketed self-help author Jim Murphy to the hottest seller on Amazon overnight.

The Eagles wide receiver passed on the playbook and checked out an inspirational title — Brown casually ignored the action in Philadelphia’s playoff game and flipped through the pages of Murphy’s book, “Inner Excellence.”

The little-known book by the mental skills coach was listed as No. 1 on Amazon’s bestseller list as of Monday morning.

“I didn’t expect that. A real gift,” Murphy told The Associated Press by phone Monday. “I just looked on Amazon last night and it went to No. 1, so that was a surprise. It had probably never been higher than probably 8 or 9,000. In the thousands, somewhere.”

Nine thousand? Continue. Down. Way down.

The book took first place on the trend list after previously being ranked no. 523,497. That jump earned it another top spot on the marketplace’s list of movers and shakers.

However, it had yet to reach the top 100 for sales in 2025. Mel Robbins, Rebecca Yarros, Kristin Hannah and the like still ruled there.

Brown said Sunday that his sideline reading had nothing to do with frustration over his lack of involvement in the offense — he finished with just one catch for 10 yards on three targets — adding that he turned to the book to “refocus and lock in despite what may happen in the game, good or bad.”

“I wasn’t frustrated at all. I thought that’s what you guys probably thought,” Brown said after the Eagles’ 22-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card round. “Why do you always think I’m frustrated? Dang. I like to read.”

No doubt powered by Eagles fans, “Inner Excellence” was reviewed 375 times and rated 4.7 out of 5 on Amazon. In comparison, Freida McFadden’s critically acclaimed book “The Housemaid” had 431,491 reviews with a rating of 4.5, but was ranked nine places behind it on the bestseller list.

“AJ Brown recommended this book so I’m looking forward to reading this. Fly Eagles Fly,” wrote one reviewer on the site.

Murphy, a former minor league outfielder in the Chicago Cubs organization, told the AP in an interview Sunday night that his phone started blowing up with texts when his book was checked out at an NFL playoff game.

After his career ended, Murphy became fascinated with the idea of ​​learning how to teach baseball players to have confidence under pressure.

“I spent five years full-time writing and researching the answer to that question,” Murphy said. “It became the book ‘Inner Excellence’.”

Brown, who had 67 catches for 1,079 yards and seven touchdowns this season, described the lessons in the book as useful because football is “90% mental and 10% physical for me.”

Brown later shared an image of the book on social media with several passages highlighted and underlined in yellow.

Brown said he was surprised his moment went viral because he says he often reads on the sidelines, but added, “You guys caught me that time.”

“If I score a touchdown or drop a pass, that’s something I focus on again,” Brown said. “I always go back to the beginning of the book. It says if you can just have a clear mind and remember that nothing else matters, clear conscience, nothing matters negative or positive. You’re willing to take risks. It also says if you are humble, you cannot be embarrassed.”

ESPN’s Tim McManus and The Associated Press contributed to this report.