Super Bowl champ Jalen Hurts turns childhood book fair memory into new kids’ book

Jalen Hurts says discovering authors Tiki and Ronde Barber as a child shaped his own journey as an author and NFL player.

Super Bowl champion Jalen Hurts hopes to help the next generation connect to their inner champion in his new children’s book “Better Than a Touchdown.” However, for Hurts, writing a book is more than just another business initiative; it’s a full-circle moment. 

“Well, throughout my journey, what inspired me, I remember my days going to the Scholastic School book fair and [seeing a book by] one of your fellow teammates,” Hurts told Good Morning America co-host Michael Strahan. 

The Philadelphia Eagles quarterback recalled the moment he discovered the book “My Brother’s Side” during the book fair and connecting with the two Black football players who appeared on the cover. 

“[It was] something that I can identify with, resonate with. I had a passion for football. Come to find out when I go home and I’m telling my parents about how excited I was about this book and it’s by Tiki and Ronde Barber,” he continued. “I had no idea that they were football players, but I knew them as authors. And so that’s something that resonated with me.” 

“Better Than a Touchdown” is described as “a love letter to the power of community, being there for one another, and how a piece of good advice can change the course of a day.” Centering the story of a boy named Jalen, the film follows the young boy as he navigates a new school year and embarks on a new adventure of trying out for the football team. 

“It’s the journey of a kid going and chasing a passion of his and throughout that he’s taken on so much wisdom and many different ideas from the people around him that encourage him to kind of be a problem solver in a situation that he’s very passionate about,” the NFL star and author explained.  

“I think a message, too, is…it’s like this quote my friend always tells me when we catch up, we’re talking about this acorn and how an acorn has everything it already needs within it to be an oak tree, and so with the right nourishment, right environment, or influences, you can be what it’s destined to be. And I think that’s exactly what we are as people.”

Hurts’ book “Better Than a Touchdown” is available now.