NFL Confidential

True Confessions from the Gutter of Football

By: Johnny Anonymous

Narrated by: Jeffrey Kafer

A current pro player takes fans on a pseudonymous trip through one of the most infamous years of football—the very long, sometimes funny, often controversial 2013-2014 season—sharing raucous, behind-the-scenes, on-the-field, and in-the-locker-room truth about life in the National Football League.

“Well, to hell with being safe. I’m going to be honest.”

Johnny Anonymous' life goal was to be nothing greater or less than the Best NFL Back-Up of All Time™. For two years, he was content earning hundreds of thousands of dollars to stand on the sidelines doing absolutely nothing. But early in his third year, a starting lineman is injured, and he suddenly finds himself on the field.

For most players, this moment is a dream come true. But not so for our author, one of the incredibly rare birds in football who reach the highest echelons, but who actually hate America’s favorite game. That’s right. Johnny Anonymous hates football. He hates what it does to his body, his brain, his life. Luckily, he can see the humor in his own situation, but also in the machinations of the NFL.

Part truth-telling narrative, part whip-smart commentary that only a true insider could bring, part hilarious, NFL Confidential gives football fans a look at a world most would give anything to see, and gives non-fans a wild ride through the strange, and sometimes disturbing customs and realities of football today. Here is a truly unaffiliated look at the nation’s biggest, most lucrative pastime over the course of one of its most transformative seasons.

From hard-to-stomach diets, showdowns in the weight room, shenanigans in the locker room, the looming dread of being cut from the team, the racial issues that still exist in modern-day football, the rock-star lifestyle that players find themselves able to afford and sometimes enjoy a little too much, the notion of being lauded in a league plagued by controversy and the sharp contrast between the love/hate of the game and the reality of the job, Johnny reveals a never-before-seen side of the NFL.

Just OK

No new revelations, interesting take but was looking for something I didn't feel I already knew.

Really good....not great

The "not great" part comes from the lack of detail probably due to the anonymity of the book.
I was addicted to the story though, and found myself really pulling for the characters.
Definitely worth a listen especially if you like football.

Good story, but no dark secrets of the NFL here

This was an interesting story that entertained me. Hearing how he first got into football, then became burnt out on it, but by the end still loved the game (if not all that goes with it). This is a good story told from a unique perspective with a fair amount of sarcasm and humor. There are some interesting "inside the locker room" stories that are more about cliques, race, and camaraderie than deep secrets of the NFL. Johnny's personal life is discussed just enough for context, but not enough to distract from the overall football story. Probably the most interesting, or entertaining part of the story is the interplay between Johnny and his O-line coach. besides that, just hearing the internal thoughts of someone in this story....be they selfish, vulnerable, reflecting, or angry....it makes the story all the more enjoyable.

There isn't anything overly surprising or revelatory here. There was some discussion about the concerns of concussions, but no details on how the concussion protocols are really happening. There was a little bit about pain killer usage, but not enough to be surprising or shocking. This is why I deducted a star. With a name like NFL Confidential, I was expecting to hear more of the NFL secrets, and why I dedicated a whole paragraph of this review detailing that those secrets are not here. Given the anonymous nature of the book, I think it would have been more hard hitting of some the NFL's dirty secrets were actually revealed. Maybe now that the player that is suspected to have written the book has retired, a follow-up could go down that road.

How the book was written in real story telling way

I liked the style of writing and the non pg of it to and the truth about the nfl

Really fucking good.

The 'fucking' is more of a call back to the number of F-bombs in this piece, but it rings true. This story had a good build to it. I can say i wasn't with Johnny for the first couple of chapters; he sounded too pessimistic and whiney to be genuine. Though i identified with his know-it-all mentality and appreciated him for calling himself out. But as the story progressed i began to like him more and more and root for him and most of all laugh with him. This was a wildly refreshing look at football, the NFL and the people who play it. And honestly, I'd love to read(well, listen to) more from him.