What inspired two-time Super Bowl winner and ex-Giant Mark Bavaro to write a novel about a Mark Bavaro–like pro footballer? Unemployment. He was executing block sales for big funds and institutions at a small firm in Greenwich, Connecticut, until his job became automated. “I had written the book a long time ago—after my football career ended, I had nothing but time, and writing was kind of therapeutic,” he said. “So I pulled it out and started working on it again.” Last week, St. Martin’s Press bought the novel, with plans for publication before the ’08 NFL season. While Bavaro says it “isn’t an exposé,” it will include a gambling subplot he says is drawn from what he saw in the NFL, and the main character is a tight end struggling with injuries and money. “If I would’ve had to retire after my second season, when we won the Super Bowl and I made the All-Pro team, I would’ve had nothing but a $20,000 CD in the bank,” he says. He calls the book’s sale “a dream come true,” but adds, “I still need to get another job pretty soon.”

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