Colin Kaepernick has added another major achievement to his already eventful career.
The former NFL quarterback’s new memoir, The Perilous Fight, has debuted at No. 1 on The New York Times Best Sellers list for Hardcover Nonfiction. The book was released on September 15, and it did not exactly spend much time waiting for attention.
Apparently, Kaepernick decided that one headline was not enough.
First came football, then came activism and now comes a No. 1 book.
Not bad for someone who has spent the past decade generating conversations both on and off the field.
Kaepernick celebrated the milestone on social media, writing, “#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER.” He added, “THE PERILOUS FIGHT is officially the #1 New York Times Bestseller.”
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback thanked readers for supporting the project and its accompanying book tour, writing, “Thank you to every single person who bought the book, showed up to a book tour stop, shared it with someone, or supported this journey in any way. It’s been a long time coming.” He continued, “This memoir is my story, but the love you’ve shown it belongs to all of us.”
The Perilous Fight tells Kaepernick’s story from his childhood and football career to the events surrounding his decision to kneel during the national anthem in 2016. The publisher describes the memoir as an account of his development as an NFL quarterback and activist.
And yes, there is plenty to unpack.
The memoir arrived nearly a decade after Kaepernick first began his national anthem protest. So, in a way, the book gives readers a chance to hear more directly from the man behind one of the most discussed moments in modern American sports.
And judging by the sales, plenty of people were interested.
Of course, becoming a bestselling author was probably not the career path most people expected when Kaepernick entered the NFL.
Well, apparently that was on the play sheet too.
The book’s success adds another chapter to Kaepernick’s post-NFL career. He has continued working in activism and storytelling, while The Perilous Fight gives him another platform to tell his story in his own words.
So, whether readers agree with everything in the memoir or simply want to understand the journey, one thing is clear: people are reading.
