Slow Getting Up: A Story of NFL Survival from the Bottom of the Pile

Nate Jackson

Sep 2013 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

Nate Jackson’s Slow Getting Up is an unvarnished and uncensored memoir of everyday life in the most popular sports league in America—and the most damaging to its players—the National Football League.

After playing college ball at a tiny Division III school, Jackson, a receiver, signed as a free agent with the San Francisco 49ers, before moving to the Denver Broncos. For six seasons in the NFL as a Bronco, he alternated between the practice squad and the active roster, eventually winning a starting spot—a short, tenuous career emblematic of the average pro player.

Drawing from his own experience, Jackson tells the little known story of the hundreds of everyday, "expendable" players whose lives are far different from their superstar colleagues.

From scouting combines to training camps, off-season parties to game-day routines, debilitating physical injuries—including degenerative brain conditions—to poor pensions and financial distress, he offers a funny, and shocking look at life in the NFL, and the young men who risk their health and even their lives to play the game.

Ratings and reviews

Nate reveals, in his candid prose, the truth behind the dream of professional sports. As outsiders we see the facade artfully crafted by the leagues and held up by the players. When given a glimpse behind the curtain we see the truth is not much different from our pedestrian lives. Get up, go to work, provide, and do it again over and over until we can't any longer. Sometimes a dream never realized is a gift because reality is crushing and hope is its victim. Thanks Nate for pulling back the shade and letting light in.

I really liked the book, found it interesting and hard to put down. Only complaint iI had was, I would have liked to known more about what he's doing since footbal. Book kinda abruptly ended after 2009. Overall highly recommend the book to any football fans.

I wanted to read this based on a review in Rolling Stone magazine. Nate missed the mark and spends much precious time in run on sentences and random language in an attempt to develop a statement.

About the author

Nate Jackson played six seasons in the National Football League as a wide receiver and a tight end. His writing has appeared in Deadspin, Slate, Daily Beast, BuzzFeed, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. A native of San Jose, California, he now lives in Los Angeles. This is his first book.