Never Shut Up: The Life, Opinions and Unexpected Adventures of an NFL Outlier

Former All-Pro NFL star Wiley shares his rags-to-riches story in this powerful memoir, beginning with his childhood in gang-ruled South Central L.A., where he felt surrounded by violence and people with “low ambition.” A late bloomer, he bulked up physically playing high school football and, in 1992, was accepted to and attended Columbia University and studied sociology, choosing quality of education over a college football program. From there, Wiley writes of his post-graduation career as he joined the NFL as the 52nd pick of the second round of the 1997 draft for the Buffalo Bills, then shuffled between the San Diego Chargers, Dallas Cowboys, and Jacksonville Jaguars as a defensive end. Following his retirement in 2006, he landed a cohost spot on ESPN’s SportsNation before leaving for Fox Sports in 2018. Throughout, he is vocal on the mental and physical health of post-NFL players, the financial future of the athletes, the debate over players kneeling during the national anthem, and his pain-filled days after leaving the gridiron (“By the time I retired from pro football, I was like Pablo Escobar with all the dope I had stored up,” he writes upon discovering old bottles of painkillers). Bold, chatty, and irreverent, Wiley’s memoir is an excellent look at life during and after pro football. (Oct.)