The best books about football capture the glory, complexity, passion, ambition, history, and future surrounding “America’s Game.” I myself am a huge football fan and follow it at the high school, college, and professional levels. It’s in my blood: my late father was a football coach, and my brother is currently a high school football coach. I bleed football, the Eagles being my preferred team. I even like fictionalized books about football, like The Silver Linings Playbook, a novel I profiled in a different article on this site. That’s why I’m so excited to be bringing you a list of the best books about American football. In this list, you’ll find an eclectic mix of the best football books. You’ll find profiles of great coaches, players, teams, and organizations. You’ll get a mix of diverse subjects, from takedowns of the NFL to the hope and promise of high school football, from the best football books for coaches, to the best books about football tactics, and simply the best football books for adults. Let’s get to it!
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And now for the 20 best books about football…
Big Game: The NFL in Dangerous Times by Mark Leibovich
Mark Leibovich is known for his funny, spot-on profiles of Washington, D.C. media and politicians, but in Big Game, one of the latest football books, he sets his sights on a dissection of the NFL and professional football. Unquestionably, the NFL is facing. new challenges and obstacles, from players who want to exercise their right to free speech to concussion controversy. And Leibovich spears the League, addressing all these topics and more in Big Game, a highly readable story for anyone who is interested in the best books about American football.
How to read it: Purchase Big Game on Amazon
The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game by Michael Lewis
Adapted into an Oscar-winning movie, Michael Lewis’ The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game is just as fascinating a read. In this compelling book for fans, players, and coaches alike, The Blind Side focuses on the relationship between Michael Oher, a talented high school football player from a troubled background, and the Evangelical family who step in to save his life. Next, as an LT, Michael has to learn the nuances of the position, including watching out for his. vulnerability, for his blind side. This definitely a feel-good book that will restore your faith in the sport, whatever its transgressions.
How to read it: Purchase The Blind Side on Amazon
Bringing the Heat by Mark Bowden
Now, I might be biased as a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan, but I suspect everyone who enjoys a good football story will appreciate Bringing the Heat, definitely among the best books about football. This compelling book follows the Eagles over the course of their pivotal 1992 season. Raw and candid, Bringing the Heat is an unforgettable book, told through personal recollections and interviews with everyone who touched the team that season.
How to read it: Purchase Bringing the Heat on Amazon
The Education of a Coach by David Halberstam
No coach quite matches the extraordinary record and career of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick. Even if you’re not a Pats fan—and I’m not!—The Education of a Coach is a fascinating look at the background and rise of one of the most influential coaches in football history. Author David Halberstam brings you inside the mind of a man who has made football success his ruthless quest in one of the best books about American football.
How to read it: Purchase The Education of a Coach on Amazon
Football for a Buck: The Crazy Rise and Crazier Demise of the USFL by Jeff Pearlman
Do you know about the United States Football League, better known as the USFL? Even if you’ve never heard of the USFL, you’ll be in good story hands as journalist Jeff Pearlman brings this unsung professional football league back from the graveyard. In Football for a Buck, Pearlman has penned a wild ride of a tale that chronicles the rise and fall of the USFL across its three seasons, from 1983-1985. It’s a tale of excess, greed, money, toxic personalities, and some of the most amazing football the sport has ever seen. One of the best books about American football, Football for a Buck is an enthralling story.
How to read it: Purchase Football for a Buck on Amazon
Fourth and Long: The Fight for the Soul of College Football by John U. Bacon
College football has morphed from a niche interest into a thriving industry, one in which its players aren’t paid, corruption is rampant, and numerous scandals rip through each season. It is anything other than the purity it claims. One of the best books about football, Fourth and Long is your deep dive into college football, laced with conflict and intrigue. Bestselling author John U. Bacon profiles four teams with whom he spent extensive time: Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, and Northwestern. Bacon exposes the central tensions of college football asking, “Can it be saved?”
How to read it: Purchase Fourth and Long on Amazon
Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream by H.G. Bissinger
Each and every football fanatic out there is familiar with Friday Night Lights, either the hit TV series featuring Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton or its source material: H. G. “Buzz” Bissinger’s 1988 classic, Friday Night Lights: a Town, a Team and a Dream, surely one of the all-time best books about football. This engrossing story of a small Texas town, a passionate football team, and their state title hopes pulls you right in and sticks with you long after you’ve finished it. After reading this one, you’ll have clear eyes, a full heart, and you can’t lose.
How to read it: Purchase Friday Night Lights on Amazon
The Game Changers: Abner Haynes, Leon King, and the Fall of Major College Football’s Color Barrier in Texas by Jeff Miller
This history of breaking the color barrier in Texas college football provides key insights into how the sport transitioned to a more diverse game. Author Jeff Miller puts you right in there when two Black players joined the team of what became the University of North Texas in the 1950s, challenging the racism inherent in society at the time when Texas schools were segregated. The Game Changers, which belongs on any roundup of the best football books for adults, shines a light on a forgotten milestone and the players, coaches, and students at its heart.
How to read it: Purchase The Game Changers on Amazon
Hometown Victory: A Coach’s Story of Football, Fate, and Coming Home by Keanon Lowe
Pitched as “The Blind Side meets Friday Night Lights,” Keanon Lowe’s Hometown Victory is another feel-good read for fans of the sport and even causal observers, and even better, it’s one of the latest football books. In Hometown Victory, Lowe recounts how he turned his back on the NFL job of his dreams—offensive analyst for the San Francisco’s 49ers—and returned home to his hometown of Portland, Oregon, after his former high school teammate and close friend from home died of an opiate overdose. Lowe takes over the Parkrose high school football team, which was then on a 23-game losing streak, and turned it around, creating a culture of winning. Lowe is also known for preventing a student shooting and suicide by disarming and hugging the troubled student, which went viral. With his incredible story told in Hometown Victory, among the best football books for coaches, Lowe establishes himself as a coach who leads with compassion.
How to read it: Purchase Hometown Victory on Amazon
The League: How Five Rivals Created the NFL and Launched a Sports Empire by John Eisenberg
If you’ve ever wondered about the origins of professional football, you need to read John Eisenberg’s The League, among the top football books for adults. This eye-opening book tells the story of the early ladders the NFL climbed to become the $13 billion industry it now has become, profiling Philadelphia Eagles owner Bert Bell; Washington Commanders owner George Preston Marshall; Chicago Bears owner George Halas; Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney; and New York Giants owner Tim Mara. These five key influencers helped shaped the thrilling professional league we have today. And you’ll learn all about it in Eisenberg’s The League.
How to read it: Purchase The League on Amazon
More Than a Game: The Glorious Present and Uncertain Future of the NFL by Brian Billick and Michael MacCambridge
Without question, when you look under the hood of the NFL, down beneath the breathtaking play, you’ll find an ugly side to football’s professional league. And its precisely that murky state of the game that Brian Billick—a Super Bowl winning coach—and Michael MacCambridge explore in More Than a Game, which belongs on any list of the best football books. The authors pull no punches in this gutsy takedown of the League’s future, one that faces economic peril, corruption, safety concerns, and more. From the manager’s boardroom to the players’ locker room, More Than a Game takes you inside the NFL and “America’s Game.”
How to read it: Purchase More Than a Game on Amazon
The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football by Paul Zimmerman
I envy my father and brother, both former and current football coaches, for whom watching football is an intellectual activity. They just see the game in an analytical way I’m not entirely comfortable wielding myself. But with Paul Zimmerman’s extraordinary The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football, one of the best books about football tactics, I have a textbook of what to look for in professional football. A classic since its first publication in 1971, here we have a revised and expanded edition that was released in 2017. If you’re looking to better understand the game, learn its strategy, and analyze the plays, The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football belongs on your to-be-read list for the best books about American football.
How to read it: Purchase The New Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Football on Amazon
Newton’s Football: The Science Behind America’s Game by Allen St. John and Ainissa G. Ramirez
Newton’s Football, among the best books about football tactics, is a unique and off-beat football book that any fan will find fascinating. In this absorbing book, Allen St. John and Ainissa G. Ramirez explore the science behind the sport, it’s all here… from everything from the evolution of football to the emergence of placekicking to how better helmets ultimately made the sport even more dangerous.
How to read it: Purchase Newton’s Football on Amazon
Never Ran, Never Will: Boyhood and Football in a Changing American Inner City by Albert Samaha
In Never Ran, Never Will, which sit on any list of the best football books for coaches, Albert Samaha spends time with a Brooklyn-based middle school football team. The story features endearing and passionate players who try to rise above their circumstances in inner-city life. If you loved Last Chance U—and I’m a huge fan of that show—this one is for you, offering a similarly honest look at lovable players facing the realities of difficult backgrounds.
How to. read it: Purchase Never Ran, Never Will on Amazon
Playmakers: How the NFL Really Works (And Doesn’t) by Mike Florio
Ever wondered about how the NFL operates, dodging scandal after scandal while getting higher ratings and higher salaries? Sometimes it seems like a week can’t go by without something dangerous threatening the League’s reputation and image. For those who want to look inside the skeleton closet, sports journalist Mike Florio breaks it all down for you, so you can understand the shifting nuances and the big moves alike that dominate the NFL during a state of almost perpetual chaos. After reading Playmakers, among the latest football books, you’ll be able to see between the lines and know how the NFL moves the chains. Definitely one of the best books about American football, Playmakers is essential reading.
How to read it: Purchase Playmakers on Amazon
The Q Factor: The Elusive Search for the Next Great NFL Quarterback by Brian Billick
Another entry on this list by Bill Billick, The Q Factor is another great read and one of the best football books for coaches. In this exciting book, Billick digs deep into the search to find the next superstar NFL quarterback. As an Eagles fan, I know all too well how finding and signing a franchise quarterback can be an elusive quest. Now we can read all about it behind the scenes from a coach’s perspective.
How to read it: Purchase The Q Factor on Amazon
The Real All Americans: The Team That Changed a Game, A People, a Nation by Sally Jenkins
In The Real All Americans, historian Sally Jenkins highlights a forgotten football team that changed the nation and the game forever: the Carlisle Indians from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. With their winning seasons of 1911 and 1912, the Carlisle Indians tackled not just Ivy League opponents, but also racism and discrimination, led by phenom Jim Thorpe and Coach “Pop” Warner. This book is an essential installment in the history of football and one of the best books about American football.
How to read it: Purchase The Real All Americans on Amazon
Season of Life: A Football Star, a Boy, a Journey to Manhood by Jeffrey Marx
This inspirational book follows Joe Ehrmann, a former NFL player turned minister and volunteer high school football coach. Ehrmann takes a different approach to coaching, teaching his players a philosophy of love, accountability, and positive masculinity. So many of the entries on this list focus on the negative side of football, but Season of Life lifts reader up, highlighting the positives of this remarkable game.
How to read it: Purchase Season of Life on Amazon
The System: The Glory and Scandal of Big-Time College Football by Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian
College football is nothing if not a system, and it’s that system that Jeff Benedict and Armen Keteyian explore in this compelling book, absolutely one of the best books about American football. Benedict and Keteyian dig deep into the world of college football, analyzing its promises of innocence and failures to manage the challenges it faces. The authors expose a broken industry just waiting for its next outrageous headlines to happen. The System is a tough read for fans but a necessary one.
How to read it: Purchase The System on Amazon
That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set it on the Path to Glory by John Eisenberg
The second entry by John Eisenberg in this list of the best books about football, That First Season is a classic and one of the best football books. That First Season takes readers inside legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, and it focuses on how he turned a failing NFL team into a winning one over one singular 1959 season. This incredible story is one you won’t want to miss.
