NFL star Jalen Hurts will make his literary debut with a children’s picture book.
Flamingo Books will publish the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback’s Better Than a Touchdown, illustrated by Nneka Myers (I Am Amazing!), next year, the press announced in a news release. It calls the book “an empowering story about friendship, the power of teamwork, and achieving goals together.”
Hurts played college football at the University of Alabama and the University of Oklahoma before being drafted by the Eagles in 2020. In February, he led Philadelphia to a national championship, beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl, 40-22. He was named the Super Bowl MVP for his performance in the game, scoring three touchdowns.
Better Than a Touchdown, Flamingo says, tells the story of a boy named Jalen, who is excited to try out for his school’s football team, then devastated when he learns the program has been cut. He works with his friends to try to save their football dreams. The press says that the book “carries a message we can all learn from: that by working together, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish.
Hurts announced the news of his book in an Instagram video, saying, “It’s always been a dream of mine to have my own children’s book, and I’m blessed to say that dream has now become a reality.…It’s a lot of hard work, a lot of love put into this book. It’s very heartfelt, because without the lessons learned, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Better Than a Touchdown is slated for publication on March 10, 2026.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
