Jim Murphy has been a source of inspiration for Philadelphia Eagles wideout A.J. Brown, who was seen by millions reading Murphy’s Inner Excellence on the sidelines of Sunday’s wild card round win over the Green Bay Packers. Now they could become teammates.
While Murphy spent much of this week working at a retreat in Dallas, and Brown remains focused on Philly’s Super Bowl chase, the two sides have discussed working together, according to Murphy, who will be attending the divisional round game between the Eagles and the Los Angeles Rams in Philadelphia on Sunday as a guest of the team.
“I just don’t want to be a distraction for this whole thing,” Murphy said during a video interview. “But I do want to encourage A.J. and all the Eagles to do what it says in the book, and learn about how to learn and grow and get better every day.” Inner Excellence promises to use wisdom from the world of sports psychology to help readers “train your mind for extraordinary performance and the best possible life.”
No formal deals have been signed, but opportunities to raise awareness and funding for common causes have been discussed. Murphy also mentioned the possibility of releasing a new version of his teachings with Brown’s support after Inner Excellence leapt to No. 1 on Amazon’s book sales chart following its nationally televised cameo.
“I always revert back to the beginning of the book,” Brown said on Sunday. “It states 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’re humble, you can’t be embarrassed.”
Murphy said the book was seven years in the making—a process that left him $90,000 in debt. But he could end the week having generated more than that in revenue.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” he said. “I went from selling five books a day to [Monday], which was probably close to 10,000.” Sales have well exceeded 10,000 by now, he added.
Murphy has benefited from the fact that the book Brown earmarked and annotated was the 2020 revised edition, which Murphy self-published through Amazon, rather than the 2009 first edition printed by McGraw-Hill, giving him a higher take-home rate per purchase.
The author has heard from potential agents and publishers about capitalizing on his newfound fame, though he said he’s more focused on spreading the book’s message.
“I really want people to know that the book sales is neat and I’m super, super grateful, but this is not about Jim Murphy. This is not about my book,” he said. “What I really want people to know is that there is a better way to live.”
In particular, Murphy expressed interest in supporting families in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, where the poverty rate is reportedly near 50% and one-third of the city’s homeless population resides. Shane Claiborne, a mentor of Murphy’s, works with residents there with a focus on curbing violence.
Brown has a two-year-old foundation program under United Charitable that has a focus on youth empowerment in the city, as well as in Brown’s hometown in Mississippi.
“Obviously Sunday happened, and it really brought light to who A.J. is as a person off the field,” A.J. Brown Foundation executive director Karrie Crocker said in a phone interview. “This is something that all kids—I would hope all kids can see that, here’s this professional athlete that reads too, just like they can do and they should do.”
Crocker has also begun helping Murphy, as the author has received inbound interest from other athletes looking for insights into dealing with the unique challenges of pro sports success. Murphy played in the Chicago Cubs minor league system for five years before retiring, in part due to injuries.
He’s currently exploring building a permanent retreat center to coach athletes. “Our goal is to create a collaborative approach to impact and have a deeper reach,” Crocker said.
No one was planning for what has transpired this week, and where things go from here remains similarly uncertain, both sides cautioned. Brown’s foundation announced a new reading initiative this week, but its form is still taking shape.
“I’d always thought that when people really started to read Inner Excellence, and if someone that has any influence reads it, you know, it’ll probably take off,” Murphy said. “But until then, you know, we’ll see what God does.”
