Iron Will: What one man needed to survive the blessing and the curse of the NFL

Jay Foreman's entire life revolved around football-from the moment he was born to an NFL great to the day he retired from his own professional football career. In between, his many successes were paired with some hard lessons. His honest look back reveals the cost of being a champion.

In this in-depth personal memoir, Jay explores his football career and how it changed him, describing his unique childhood and his life before, during, and after his time in the NFL. He was ready for some of the challenges-but others knocked this accomplished linebacker completely off his feet.

With his father's legacy at his back, Jay proved himself as a Nebraska Cornhusker, where he was a starting member of the 1995 and 1997 championship teams. He went on to play with the newly established Houston Texans in the NFL, but the addictive professional-athlete lifestyle soon took its toll. He could get anything he wanted, and this changed him-and it changed the people around him.

Today, Jay focuses on nonprofit work in Lincoln, Nebraska, where he has established the Foreman Foundation. His raw and real life story offers an illuminating glimpse into the joys-and perils-celebrity status affords.