Eagles’ A.J. Brown recalls feeling like a ‘paid actor’ at previous Super Bowl, a loss to the Chiefs

NFL star A.J. Brown made headlines when cameras recently captured him passing time during a Philadelphia Eagles game reading a book, “Inner Excellence,” by self-help author Jim Murphy.

Brown’s sideline routine contributed to a spike in book sales, with “Inner Excellence” quickly jumping into the top spot on Amazon’s trending list the day after the Eagles’ wild-card win over the Green Bay Packers. 

The book ranked 523,497 prior to the sudden increase in attention brought on by Brown.

Brown and the Eagles will now turn the page and focus on preventing a Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl three-peat. The Eagles are hoping to avoid a repeat of the 2023 Super Bowl.

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Brown caught six passes for 96 yards and scored a touchdown in the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona. But Kansas City took the lead in the fourth quarter and celebrated a 38-35 victory.

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Two full NFL seasons have passed since the loss, and the Eagles could still be haunted by the memory of how they let a chance at winning the franchise’s second Super Bowl championship slip away.

A play here, a play there, and the Eagles could have been Super Bowl champions.

Quarterback Jalen Hurts replied “next question” when asked his most vivid memory from the 2023 Super Bowl, and Brown recounted a missed opportunity for him to score a touchdown that could have changed the outcome.

“The play really kept me up thinking about, ‘How did I miss that?’ and what I got confused on,” Brown said.

The play?

“I don’t want to get into it because we may run it back,” he said.

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Brown finished the 2024 season with 67 catches and a team-high 1,079 yards despite missing four games. It was the third consecutive year Brown surpassed 1,000 receiving yards.

“A.J. is the best receiver that this city has ever seen,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said.

Brown was rewarded in April with a three-year contract extension that included $84 million in guaranteed money. He was about to become the highest-paid wide receiver in the NFL at $32 million a year until Minnesota Vikings wideout Justin Jefferson’s deal topped his later that summer.

While Brown is paid like an elite receiver, he said he felt like nothing but a “paid actor” at the 2023 Super Bowl.

Brown said if he had his way, the Eagles would arrive in New Orleans on Friday, hold a walk-through Saturday and play the game Sunday. His Super Bowl experience was like something out of a movie in which he played the role of a football player. He has tried to steel his emotions amid this year’s Super Bowl hype.

“It’s about us, but it’s not about us,” he said. “We have so much we have to do for everyone else. The media, the fans. There’s only so little time that we get to focus on what’s important, and that’s the game.”

Brown said he’s been turning down media requests “left and right” because, when it comes to Super Bowl hype, “none of this stuff matters.”

The Super Bowl kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET Feb. 9 from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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