The NFL is the most popular sports league in America--and the most damaging to the players that wear its uniforms. Degenerative brain conditions, early onset arthritis, bad knees, hips, shoulders: such is the glory that awaits the retired veteran of the NFL (to say nothing of the terrible pensions, and imminent financial ruin for the majority that lack college degrees). But for the millions of fans watching from home, all that matters is the Sunday game. The average NFL player is faceless, and his trials and tribulations--even while he plays--go largely unnoticed. Nate Jackson was such a player. A receiver at tiny Division III Menlo College, on the coast of California, he was good enough to sign as a free agent with the 49ers, and played for six seasons with the Denver Broncos, bouncing from the practice squad to the active roster and back again, a player holding on to a career by the skin of his teeth--like the majority of players that come through the league. This memoir will take the reader along for the story of Nate's career, which doubles as the story of hundreds upon hundreds of everyday, expendable players, and will describe the lives that aren't captured in high-definition. From scouting combines to training camps, off-season parties to game-day routines, this remarkably written memoir--funny, candid, controversial, and, of all things, artful--is an unforgettable look at life in the NFL, and the real lives of those twenty-somethings putting their bodies and minds through hell.