The NFL didn't give me a highlight reel. It gave me a journal.
This isn't a memoir written years later — cleaned up, restructured, and turned into a highlight reel. These are the actual journal entries. Written in real time. Inside the building. Between practices, after games, and during the hardest conversations no one else hears.
Jed Collins entered the NFL undrafted in 2008. Over seven seasons he was cut a dozen times, bounced through nine teams, and somehow became the starting fullback for the New Orleans Saints — while keeping a daily journal the entire time.
"The NFL taught me how to compete. Journaling taught me how to survive."
4th & Goal is the unfiltered record of what it actually costs to compete at the highest level — no filters, no hindsight, no polish. Just the raw, unedited thoughts of a veteran player navigating pressure, uncertainty, failure, and the relentless grind of professional football in what would become his final season.
What Makes This Book Different
Most sports biographies are told after the fact. 4th & Goal was written while it was happening. The fear before training camp. The moment a teammate's locker disappears overnight. The contract negotiations that determine where your family lives. The injuries you play through because the alternative is going home.
This is what it looks like when the dream isn't guaranteed — told by the player who was never supposed to make it.
Foreword by former teammate Dan Orlovsky, NFL veteran quarterback and ESPN analyst.
This Book Is For:- The competitor who wants a real, behind-the-scenes look at life inside the NFL — not as a star, but as a player fighting to stay on the roster every single day
- The business athlete who wants to capture their own story while they're living it — and turn that story into their brand
- The leader who understands that in a world shaped by AI and automation, authentic reflection is a competitive advantage
- Anyone who has ever been told they weren't good enough — and kept showing up anyway
Why This Matters NowWe are entering a world that is faster, louder, and more automated than ever. AI can write stories. It cannot write yours. The ability to pause, observe, and document your own experience is becoming rare — which makes it powerful.
Journaling isn't just a habit. It's a discipline. It's a competitive advantage. And this book is proof of what happens when someone has the courage to write it all down.
The most important lessons of your life won't come from the highlights. They'll come from the moments no one else sees.
Scroll up and grab your copy of 4th & Goal today.
