The NFL Turned a Product Into a Best-Seller Overnight. Now Rule Changes Feel Inevitable

There’s a reason why the NFL can issue press releases that include phrases humbly describing the league as “the most valuable content in all of sports and entertainment.“

It’s because the NFL dominates the American TV landscape. Even in a minor “down year” in which the league’s activities had to compete for air time against an American Presidential election and the summer Olympics, NFL games still accounted for 70 of the 100 most-watched events in 2024 in America. Across all networks, NFL games also still averaged 17.5 million viewers.

Most understand that commanding this level of attention in our current era is why the NFL’s long-term media distribution deal through the 2033 season was set at $110 billion over 11 years. 

These staggering media rights figures are also mainly why outlets like Sportico estimate the average NFL franchise’s worth at $5.93 billion, putting the league’s total value in the range of $190 billion.

The league’s money and influence are so vast that they feel abstract to us mere mortals, but a viral moment during the Packers-Eagles Wild Card round on Sunday, January 12th, 2025, offered up a surprising and sobering example of the league’s marketing might. 

With all due respect to Saquon Barkley’s ridiculous ups and this year’s free-kick, it’s also likely to be the rarest thing to come out of the NFL all season. And based on the league’s track record, I doubt it’ll ever happen again.

The NFL Is Hyper-Focused on Preventing Unpaid Product Promotion

Sony

The NFL is keenly aware of its promotional power and is well-versed in charging brands for the privilege of appearing in games and game-related activities.

It’s also been around the block long enough to encounter various “creative” ways individuals have promoted products or brands, intentionally or not, and then added new rules in response.

A quick search for the word “logo” inside the NFL’s easy-to-navigate online rulebook reveals 18 separate entries for the term, all of which fall under Section 4 of Rule 5. 

Some mentions of the word relate to mandating where the NFL shield logo must appear on the uniform. However, most mentions are concerned with strictly preventing unauthorized brand logos or messages from appearing anywhere on players. 

Nike

There are rules prohibiting logos and messages on helmets, the uniform, uniform undergarments, footwear, and even sideline towels. These rules dictate that nothing is allowed to appear without explicit approval from the league office. 

Then there are Articles 7 and 8 in the rulebook, which read more like blanket provisions designed to stem players attempting to use games as a promotional platform.

As Article 7 explicitly states, “Throughout the period on game-day that a player is visible to the stadium and television audience (including in pregame warm-ups, in the bench area, and during postgame interviews in the locker room or on the field), players are prohibited from wearing, displaying, or orally promoting equipment, apparel, or other items that carry commercial names or logos/identifications of companies, unless such commercial identification has been approved in advance by the League office.”

Article 8 is a similarly worded provision that prevents players from “wearing, displaying, or otherwise conveying personal messages either in writing or illustration” unless – wait for it – the league approves them.

Amazon

Some forms of personal messages are strictly prohibited altogether, including “political activities or causes, other non-football events, causes or campaigns, or charitable causes or campaigns.”

This 2024 regular NFL season has already featured a few notable examples of players running afoul of these rules. Nick Bosa of the 49ers was fined $11,255 for wearing a ‘MAGA’ hat during a postgame interview. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts was also fined $5,628 for wearing one shoe that was not one of the Eagle’s “constitutional team colors.” 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield and Los Angeles Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh also faced league scrutiny after being spotted using “Zyn” tobacco-less nicotine pouches on the sideline. In these cases, though, the incidents violated the league’s rules concerning “tobacco-related products.” Mayfield ultimately wasn’t fined, however. It’s still unclear what punishment Jim Harbaugh might face.

But despite the league’s seemingly comprehensive policies designed to prevent unpaid product exposure and its enforcement vigilance, the first weekend of the 2024 NFL playoffs revealed that there’s at least one way a product can score a free promotion during a game without violating a rule. 

A.J. Brown’s Sideline Reading Moment Will Be a Viral Product Case Study

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The viral product moment occurred when Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown was shown reading a book on the sidelines mid-game. Fox Sports sparked it with an initial cutaway to the sideline that lasted roughly 19 seconds andincluded commentary by the game’s announcer, Kevin Burkhardt, and Tom Brady, his analyst partner.

It didn’t take long for a follow-up shot highlighting the book’s cover to appear on screen, identifying exactly what Brown was reading. 

As it turns out, the book was a little-known self-help book called “Inner Excellence: Train Your Mind for Extraordinary Performance and the Best Possible Life ” that author Jim Murphy self-published back in 2020.

In postgame interviews, A.J. Brown explained that he’s actually brought the book to every game and uses it “to refocus and lock in despite what may transpire in the game, good or bad,” according to a message he shared on X. The playoff game just happened to be the first time his in-game reading habit was captured live on TV.

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As every media outlet under the sun, from traditional new juggernauts like The New York Times and CNN to traditional sports publications like Sports Illustrated and ESPN, has now documented, the book’s appearance and the internet’s natural curiosity vaulted the once-obscure title into the No. 1 best-selling book on Amazon the next day. The book has held the spot every day since then, at least until this story’s publication.

In short, a brief appearance during an NFL playoff game transformed an obscure, self-published, four-year-old book into a number one best seller overnight.

Innerexcellence.com

None of this is to imply that A.J. Brown’s reading incident was some kind of pre-meditated, under-the-table marketing maneuver concocted between Brown and author Jim Murphy. 

Brown, though, has certainly been vocal about his disdain for some of the NFL’s non-game rules. He’s also publicly shared ideas on how players could use their power to bring about change. 

“That rule sucks,” Brown said to ESPN’s Tim McManus after being informed by the league that he had violated NFL’s footwear policy. “I really tried to bend the rules a little bit, but I think all players should just wear whatever they want to wear. They’re not going to be able to fine everybody in the league. So I think we should start that movement as players.”

Murphy was also clearly surprised by the moment. He informed Axios that he went from averaging five book sales a day to more than 10,000. A recent update to his dedicated website for “Inner Excellence” also noted that “due to exceptional demand, Inner Excellence in paperback has sold out at both Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.” However, the message has since been removed. 

He told Axios that he’s spoken with Brown over the phone too, and plans to attend the upcoming Birds-Rams playoff game to support him. They have also apparently discussed teaming up to develop a child literacy initiative in the Philly area. 

As of publication time for this story, the NFL has also not moved to attempt to fine or sanction Brown for his actions, though it’s unclear what rule they could even currently use to do so. 

It’s as if we all just witnessed the viral marketing equivalent to the one-point safety – a.k.a, the rarest play in football.

Still, I’d bet that’s going to change soon. The incident highlighted a rare chink in the league’s otherwise ironclad rulebook regarding player product promotion. And it feels like only a matter of time until it’s fixed.

Banning reading on the sideline feels like a stretch. But no one should be surprised if a new rule soon appears mandating players must obscure the cover pages of books and other media used on the sideline.

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