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JJ Birden

Former NFL Pro & Motivational Keynote Speaker

JJ Birden inspires audiences to "Beat The Coverage" in business and in life. Just 5'10 and 157 pounds, he defied the odds to thrive nine years in the NFL. Through discipline, preparation, and seizing opportunities, JJ shows leaders and teams how to overcome obstacles, maximize strengths, and win their games.

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Bio

Like a fabled long-shot story and underdog tale, JJ Birden was The Small Man in the Big Man’s Game of Football.

After earning a scholarship to the University of Oregon for track and field (plus being the #1 high school wide receiver in Oregon), JJ also earned a walk-on spot with the football team his sophomore year. His trials were only just beginning, though, and he faced many naysayers, followed by a cycle of injuries and unimpressive statistics.

JJ’s hard work, grit, speed, and resiliency were enough to eventually earn him the invite to the NFL Combine, where he dominated. His performance earned him an NFL draft pick, and he was on his way, or so he thought. Another series of injuries and failed physicals culminated in one of the darkest moments in JJ’s early career; JJ was rejected by 4 NFL teams in 5 days.

He could have walked away from the game and given up hope despite what seemed like insurmountable odds, but JJ didn’t even flinch. Instead, he did what he’s always done when faced with adversity—he found a way to win.

Despite a height of only 5’10 and weighing in at 157 lbs. (versus the typical 6’2 and 245 lbs. of his peers) JJ would go on to play 9 seasons in the NFL, crushing the average player's career of less than 2 years.

He is now a dynamic keynote speaker and performance coach, helping individuals and teams overcome obstacles, stay focused under pressure, and take ownership of their success. As a best-selling author, entrepreneur, husband, and father, JJ shares real-world lessons from his NFL career and personal life, proving that success isn’t given, it’s earned. Through his message, he inspires audiences of all backgrounds to rise, respond, and beat the coverage in every area of life.

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Keynotes

Featured Keynote

Beat The Coverage!
Spot the openings. Close the gap. And deliver results. Every time.

Today’s professionals face relentless pressure, tight competition, rapid change, burnout, layoffs, and uncertainty. Most people respond by working harder, but hustling without a strategy leads to burnout. Without a clear framework, people stall, overthink, or give up when things get tough.

JJ Birden knows pressure. As one of the lightest players in the NFL at 5’10”, 157 lbs., he overcame the odds to play 9 seasons at the highest level. After football, he built a successful business, raised a family of eight, and continues to train leaders across industries.

Beat The Coverage comes from JJ’s NFL days as a wide receiver. In every play, his job was to identify the defensive coverage, whether it was man-to-man or zone, and find the hole. That mindset helped him have a much longer career than the NFL average of less than 2 years.

Today, it means something much bigger. In business and life, we all face Coverage: such as competition, economic pressures, customer behavior, self-doubt, personal setbacks, and even internal challenges like complacency due to success.

Sometimes the hole is in the market. Sometimes it’s in your weaknesses. His message helps leaders and teams recognize the gaps (or holes). And understand the importance of practicing or getting in the reps to master their strengths to help overcome or exploit them and execute with precision.

Beat The Coverage is not just a sports metaphor; it’s a system for staying one step ahead under pressure and creating wins in any environment. It’s battle-tested in sports, business, and life. Audiences will walk away equipped with a strategic mindset to win in adversity. They’ll learn how to anticipate challenges, lead under pressure, and turn uncertainty into advantage, with repeatable tools they can use immediately in their business and life.

Key Takeaways

Six Strategic Steps to Win in Business and Life
1. Know the Field - How to assess your environment so you lead proactively, not reactively.
2. Find the Holes – The skill of spotting hidden opportunities in chaos.
3. Play to Your Strengths / Cover Weak Spots – Maximize your edge while managing risk.
4. Draw Up the Game Plan – Strategy beats hustle, build a repeatable system that works.
5. Put in the Reps – Consistency under pressure is what separates amateurs from pros.
6. Execute & Adjust – Why adaptability, not perfection, is the key to sustained success.

Seize Your Opportunities
Seize Your Opportunities
A call to action to individuals to recognize and maximize opportunities!

Businesses have always aimed to get more out of their people, but it is becoming increasingly hard to provide resources, instruction, and encouragement that actually motivate employees to show up and give their best. To truly succeed in today’s extremely competitive business world, organizations need employees who are genuinely motivated to give their best, improve each day, and do whatever it takes to win. Unfortunately, not everyone has this capacity; JJ Birden does, and he can help anyone develop it, too.

Seize Your Opportunities focuses on the individual and what one must do for success as part of a larger group—no matter the odds, and no matter how much hard work it requires.

As a former NFL wide receiver, JJ knows what it takes to reach the highest level of performance and have the capacity to maintain it. Many of the success principles he learned as a professional athlete have helped him thrive in the business world as an entrepreneur and professional speaker. In this presentation, JJ shares his winning principles and strategies and teaches audiences how to maximize and seize the opportunities in their lives.

Success is not going to be given to you. You have to achieve success; and once you have it, you can't stay at that same level. You have to continue to work to fight mediocrity and complacency. JJ will show you how.

Key Takeaways:

Cultivating a winning mindset and unwavering determination

Discovering, clarifying, and standing by your Why

The role of discipline and self-drive in achieving success

Overcoming challenges to reach your breakthrough

The dangers of complacency in halting progress

Sustaining momentum through ongoing personal growth

**Available with polling: 60-minute keynote.
Winning as an Underdog
Winning as an Underdog
Being an underdog gives you a STEALTH opportunity to win!

In today's fiercely competitive landscape, organizations often find themselves at a perceived disadvantage when pitted against industry giants with larger market shares, extensive budgets, and formidable resources. However, this perceived weakness can be transformed into a strategic advantage with the right guidance. Rather than limiting their growth potential, these organizations can harness their unique strengths to foster alignment, momentum, and ultimately, sustainable growth.

Drawing inspiration from his own journey as an underdog, JJ Birden, a former NFL player and successful business professional, shares invaluable insights in his compelling keynote, "Winning as an Underdog". Despite facing odds stacked against him—where the average NFL player towered over him by 43%—JJ mastered the "underdog mentality," leveraging his perceived shortcomings to fuel his success both on and off the field. Through over a decade of experience in the medical and fitness equipment industries, JJ continued to embody this mentality, defying expectations and achieving remarkable success.

In his captivating keynote, Winning as an Underdog, JJ empowers attendees to embrace their underdog status and capitalize on every opportunity. With a blend of undeniable truths, actionable strategies, and inspiring anecdotes, JJ guides participants through a collaborative experience, showcasing how underdogs can not only thrive but also revolutionize established business norms. Join JJ Birden as he reveals how underdogs are the true catalysts for innovation and change in the business world.

Key Takeaways:

Recognizing the strategic benefits of embracing underdog status.

Knowing how to cultivate a mindset that thrives on challenges and adversity.

Implementing JJ's proven framework for narrowing the underdog disadvantage.

Maintaining unwavering determination and resilience on the journey from underdog to industry leader.

**Available with polling.

Topics

Overcoming Adversity
Peak Performance Trending

JJ Birden Motivational Speaker NEW Sizzle Reel 2025

JJ Birden Extended Speaker Clips

The Underdog Has The Power to Win If...

No matter who you are or what you have accomplished, we have all felt like an underdog at some point in our lives. We may have had a moment in a situation where we thought we were not favored to win or to be selected, or we were at a disadvantage. On top of that, others around us also did not believe in our abilities or chances.

THE COMEBACK IS AN ENDURANCE RACE

You have to be ready to have a "what's next" mentality.

Sometimes It Requires a Process!

Some of the choices we are faced with require us to go through more of a process before making a decision.

Breakthrough Moments Can Be Game Changers!

The point is, life is full of opportunities for breakthroughs. JJ Birden believes the most powerful breakthroughs can occur when we're faced with F.A.S.C.O. (failures, adversities, setbacks, challenges obstacles). During those moments, we have a choice. A choice we control! Either those moments can take you down and out, or they can take you to bigger and better things.

JJ Birden - A Q&A ON RETIREMENT AND LIFE AFTER THE GAME

FEBRUARY 2019 JJ Birden is a former wide receiver who played 9 years in the NFL. Birden was a part of the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, before he took advantage of his opportunities to become a businessman, motivational speaker and author.

Peak Performance Sports

NFL Player JJ Birden on Overcoming Adversity and Size - In this week's sports psychology podcast, mental game of sports expert, Dr. Patrick Cohn interviews JJ Birden, former NFL wide receiver who played for 9 years. Dr. Cohn and JJ Birden talk about mental toughness in football and what the top players possess. Learn how to block out distractions and recover from mistakes. Learn how JJ overcame adversity and transitioned from a track athlete to playing division 1 football when others told him he couldn't.

Nick Symmonds Host of "Run The Day" Podcast Interviews Athlete Entrepreneur JJ Birden

How Passion, Patience and Endurance Leads to Success

JJ Birden talks Kansas City Chiefs, new book and more

On Monday afternoon, I spoke with Birden on a litany of topics, ranging from his days with the Chiefs to the current team, and what Birden is doing today.

The Sports ReKap by Host Nick Kapetan-Special Guest JJ Birden

Host Nick Kapetan welcomes NFL wide receiver, professional speaker, and accomplished author, JJ Birden to the show. JJ and Kap converse about: how a speedy wide receiver must adjust to the NFL game, similarities between Peyton Manning and Joe Montana, as well as how Cam Newton could have handled his postgame press conference differently.

2015 When Opportunity Knocks - 8 Surefire Ways to Take Advantage!

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“During the COVID-19 Pandemic, our team shifted gears from our normal operations to a work-from-home setting. During this time, we wanted to place a strong emphasis on personal and professional development. With the uncertainty of the situation, we called on JJ to connect with our staff on topics of motivation, overcoming obstacles, and developing a positive mindset. JJ delivered an outstanding presentation that related directly to our current situation. Not only was he well-prepared and engaging, but his lessons were authentic and unique. Although his background is in the NFL, any business or personal setting can be compared to the messages he depicted. I cannot think of a single person or group of people that I wouldn't recommend JJ to. He radiates positivity, grit, and authenticity!”

Account Executive, Corpus Christi Hooks

"I've been to 25 to 30 National Sales Meetings in my career, I've heard lots of motivational speakers and JJ Birden was by far the best National Sales Meeting speaker that I've ever seen."

Director of Global Government Sales, Hershey

"JJ was very easy to work with, and completely understood our ultimate objective. He connected so well with our audience he had a line for over an hour of people waiting to purchase his book, and thank him. What I appreciated the most was that he was so gracious with each attendee that came to the table to speak him."

EVENTS MANAGER, ORANGETHEORY FITNESS

"JJ spoke virtually for our Sysmex Speaker Series, he is the best motivational speaker I have heard and believed. Thank you!"

Health Systems Account Manager, Sysmex

“JJ Birden had the group mesmerized and taking notes. The group was pretty much glazed over after 7 hours of meetings and JJ brought them right back to life. What was really great was how JJ was able to cater to the group and adjust his presentation to what the group was focused on, getting over the hump of 7 figure production.”

Ivy Investments

"Every time he got onto the field he took advantage of the opportunity to do something special. He was meticulous in his preparation and never let his lack of NFL size stop him from finding a way to be successful. He has taken the same attention to detail, attitude and hard work that allowed him to be successful in the NFL into life after the game and is sharing the lessons that helped him succeed."

Kansas City Star Reporter who covered the Chiefs/NFL

“JJ Birden was the keynote speaker at our client appreciation event and his presentation was outstanding. His message was well received by our very diverse group, which included clients and their guests from a wide age spectrum. His presentation was both energetic and entertaining. He incorporated many of his life experiences, including those as an NFL player. The feedback we received from our clients on his presentation was extremely positive. I would highly recommend JJ as a keynote speaker and presenter.”

Private Wealth Advisor, TruCourse Wealth Advisors

"JJ delivered a fast-paced, stimulating, informative and yes, motivational message to my group of community bank executives in Phoenix this past fall. The participants and their spouses were totally engaged as each one was focused on the front of the room until JJ wrapped up his session. Birden provided amazing energy, excellence, fun and most impressionable of all was how he incorporated his football experiences and related the game's strategy to business expansion and personal development. This is a tough group when it comes to motivational speakers, but they walked away smiling with ideas and tools that they could bring back to their communities and their banks. I highly recommend JJ for your next event and I look forward to engaging him for another time in the future."

Program Executive and Meeting Planner, Western States Director Education Foundation

"In these times of uncertainty, many associates are feeling a sense of chaos and stress with the unknown. Your messaging around what they can personally do everyday was uplifting and will be referenced internally for years to come, and the connection you had our associates was outstanding. Thank you for being a part of the Virtual Summer Speaker Series; you were all and more than we had hoped for to encourage, inspire and motivate the team deeply affected by COVID-19 in the hospital labs."

Senior Director, Talent Management - Sysmex America, Inc.

"I just had the wonderful opportunity to hear JJ's message at our company's recent National Sales Meeting. And wow, what an outstanding message it was! In fact, it was the most inspiring story I've heard during my 38 years here. His presentation captivated everyone, and he has an amazing way of connecting and it's like he's talking to everyone, one on one. JJ's message and tactics for success are simple and rooted in powerful concepts, his message will give you all the inspiration necessary to succeed both personally and professionally."

Vice President & General Manager, Hershey Small Format Sales Division

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JJ Birden

Bio

Keynotes

Beat The Coverage!

Topics

"I've been to 25 to 30 National Sales Meetings in my career, I've heard lots of motivational speakers and JJ Birden was by far the best National Sales Meeting speaker that I've ever seen."

"JJ spoke virtually for our Sysmex Speaker Series, he is the best motivational speaker I have heard and believed. Thank you!"

Similar Speakers

Lance Armstrong

Gian Paul Gonzalez

Sally McRae

Damon West

Let's find your perfect speaker!

Explore

Quick Links

Keep Up To Date

JJ Birden

Bio

Keynotes

Beat The Coverage!

Seize Your Opportunities

Winning as an Underdog

Topics

"I've been to 25 to 30 National Sales Meetings in my career, I've heard lots of motivational speakers and JJ Birden was by far the best National Sales Meeting speaker that I've ever seen."

"JJ spoke virtually for our Sysmex Speaker Series, he is the best motivational speaker I have heard and believed. Thank you!"

Similar Speakers

Lance Armstrong

Gian Paul Gonzalez

Sally McRae

Damon West

Let's find your perfect speaker!

Explore

Quick Links

Keep Up To Date