30 Best Football Movies: List of Highly Rated Films

Football is one of the most spectacular and exciting sports games widely played in the United States, a combination of rugby and regular soccer. The first match was played in 1869, and now literally every school has its own team.

Of course, there are enough stories about this game in American movies. There are comedies, biopics, and thrilling fantasies. All these movies have one thing in common – inspiring motivation, which is always characterized by the sports genre. Meet the list of the best movies of the XXI century about football.

Table of contents

80 for Brady

IMDB Rating – 5.8
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2023
Worldwide Box Office: $40,362,938
Director: Kyle Marvin
Starring: Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, Rita Moreno, Sally Field, Tom Brady, Billy Porter, Harry Hamlin, Guy Fieri, Alex Moffat, Rob Corddry

Football is the main motivating and driving force in this fresh, rousing comedy about the adventures of four older ladies. Since 2021, Lou, Trish, Maura and Betty have been ardent fans of the New England Patriots sports team, and lately they’ve taken a great liking to trim quarterback Tom Brady.

Radio

IMDB Rating – 6.9
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2003
Budget: $35,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $53,293,628
Director: Michael Tollin
Starring: Cube Gooding Jr., Ed Harris, Elfrey Woodard, S. Ipeita Merkerson, Brent Sexton, Chris Mulkey, Sarah Drew, Riley Smith, Patrick Breen, Debra Winger

The love of sports changes lives, and often for the better. James Robert “Radio” Kennedy proved that with his life, who didn’t earn a championship in football, but became an incredible lesson for future champions.

In the 70s, the mentally challenged James, nicknamed “Radio”, who is 23 years old, lives with his mother and often wanders around the football field watching the game. He is noticed by the school coach Harold Jones and decides to take care of the unfortunate guy, making him a real mascot of the team and showing everyone that a kind attitude towards each other is the most important thing that mankind has.

In 2006, a statue of him was erected in the high school football stadium where Radio attended.

Remember the Titans

IMDB Rating – 7.8
Genre: Biography, Sports, Drama
Production: USA / 2000
Budget: $30,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $136,706,683
Director: Boaz Yakin
Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst, Donald Faison, Craig Kirkwood, Ethan Sapley, Kip Pardu, Hayden Panettiere, Nicole Ari Parker.

Many sports in America have experienced a period of serious racial discrimination, and football was no exception. The events of the movie starring Denzel Washington are set in Alexandria in 1971. After another school vacation officials decide to unite students of different colors, which causes protests from “white” parents.

The new composition of the school football team “Titans” causes a real storm of anger. Not only are there black athletes, but African-American Herman Boone is appointed coach. He quickly unites the team, which now has to fight not only on the field, but also off it – with stupid racial prejudices of the surrounding people.

When the film’s producer, Jerry Bruckheimer, learned that director-designate Boaz Yakin knew nothing about football, he arranged for Yakin to attend a two-week stay at a football camp.

Forever Strong

IMDB Rating – 7.1
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2008
US box office receipts: $719,556
Director: Ryan Little
Starring: Gary Cole, Sean Astin, Neal McDonough, Sean Faris, Julie Warner, Penn Badgley, Elliot Schwartz, Michael J. Pagan, Nathan West, Max Cash

Young Rick is the captain of the school rugby team, where his father Richard Penning is the coach. Like his father, Rick is prone to hooliganism, drinking and drugs, and one day ends up in a juvenile detention center.

Marcus, the manager of the center, offers Rick the chance to play for the rival team Highland Rugby, or stay in detention. The boy sees this as his chance for a better life, quits drugs and trains hard, becoming more and more enamored with the new team, but also longing for his home team. And when he returns home, he realizes that he has to make a choice that will determine the rest of his life.

The movie script is based on several true stories of the Highland Rugby high school team, and the development of the project, from writing the script to securing funding, took nearly 20 years.

The Express

IMDB Rating – 7.2
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: USA, Germany / 2008
Budget: $40,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $9,808,124
Director: Gary Fleder
Starring: Rob Brown, Dennis Quaid, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Omar Benson Miller, Nelsan Ellis, Charles S. Dutton, Justin Martin, Justin Jones, Nicole Bahari, Onjanu Ellis.

Biographical sports movie based on the life story of the first black athlete to win the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis.

Ernie grew up in a dysfunctional family, and as a teenager showed talents in many sports, including football. University coach Schwarzwalder notices the gifted boy and takes him on the team, causing resentment in the “white” society. Despite threats and indignation, the coach protects his player, as do his teammates, and the player becomes a real star.

Unfortunately, the life of the movie’s hero, the real-life Ernie, was cut short at the age of 23 due to leukemia.

Gridiron Gang

IMDB Rating – 7.0
Genre: Crime, Sports, Drama
Production: USA / 2006
Budget: $30,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $41,480,851
Director: Phil Joanu
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Ixzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn, Jade Yorker, David W. Thomas, Sethu Taase, Moe, James Earl

“Gridiron Gang” is another sports biography based on the story of the Kilpatrick Correctional School in Los Angeles. Sean Porter (Dwayne Johnson) is disappointed in his work: despite all efforts, the guys who leave the walls of the correctional institution return to the streets, to drugs and crime. And he decides to create a strong team to play football in the school.

Things don’t go well for the Kilpatrick Mustangs at first. Some guys from rival gangs, others do not trust Sean too much. But he is confident that he can get through to the pupils and lead yesterday’s pathetic losers to real victories.

The movie ends with footage of the 1993 documentary of the same name about the Mustangs.

The Replacements

IMDB Rating – 6.6
Genre: Comedy, Sports
Production: USA / 2000
Budget: $50,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $50,054,511
Director: Howard Deutch
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Gene Hackman, Brooke Langton, Rhys Ivans, Orlando Jones, Faizon Love, Jon Favreau, Michael Taliferro, Ace Yonamain, Troy Winbush.

The events of this sports comedy unfold in Washington, D.C., against the backdrop of the NFL players’ strike. At this time, the team “Sentinels” needs to win a few games to stay afloat.

The club’s owner hires Coach McGinty, whom he himself once kicked out, to assemble “Understudies,” little-known players who are willing to play in place of the main athletes. It turns out that the old coach has a nice ace up his sleeve, and the Sentinels have a hope of breaking into the lead.

The movie script was based on the events of 1987, a major strike by NFL players demanding a pay raise.

We Are Marshall

IMDB Rating – 7.0
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2006
Budget: $65,000,000
US box office receipts: $43,545,364
Director: McGee
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Matthew Fox, Anthony Mackie, David Strathairn, Ian McShane, Kate Mara, January Jones, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Arlene Escarpeta, Brian Geraty

The hard-hitting and motivational drama starring Matthew McConaughey is based on true events and tells the story of how the Huntington football team is killed almost entirely in a plane crash in 1970.

The savage tragedy plunges the town into prolonged mourning. There is not much left of the club – a few spare players and a very young assistant coach Jack Langiel (McConaughey). He realizes that the fate of his beloved club hangs in the balance and begins to work like a cursed man to revive the team and bring it to a high level.

The crash of Flight 932, carrying a Marshall University team, remains the largest airplane crash in West Virginia.

Invincible

IMDB Rating – 7.0
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2006
Budget: $40,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $58,480,828
Director: Erikson Kor
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, Elizabeth Banks, Kevin Conway, Michael Rispoli, Kirk Acevedo, Dov Davidoff, Michael Kelly, Sal Darigo, Nicoya Banks.

A thrilling sports movie starring Mark Wahlberg is the biographical story of Vince Papale, a receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976 to 1978.

It all begins in 1976. 30-year-old Vince, a teacher and fan of the local football team, is going through a series of setbacks. Getting fired from his job, his wife leaving, and a losing streak to his favorite team. All this discourages Vince, but then fate throws him a unique chance. The new coach of the Philadelphia Eagles decides to freshen up the roster and invites everyone to a sports tryout, where participants will be able to compete for a place on the main team.

The real Vince Papale was not a rookie football player, he played on several teams before the events described. And his wife left him in 1971, 5 years before the plot of the movie.

The Longest Yard

IMDB Rating – 6.4
Genre: Crime, Sports, Comedy
Production: USA / 2005
Budget: $82,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $190,320,568
Director: Peter Segal
Starring: Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, James Cromwell, William Fichtner, Nelly, Michael Irvin, Bob Sapp, Nicholas Turturro, Terry Crews.

A single bad offense can define a lifetime. Paul Crewe, a promising football player on his way to fame, decides to commit a scam, which is discovered, and then, in a fit of pique, has a drunken accident, for which he goes to prison for three years.

The prison director Rudolf Hazen turns out to be a big football fan. He suggests that Paul become a coach for the warden’s team, which has been losing all its matches for several years, and at the same time gather a group of prisoners who want to play football.

This movie is a remake of the 1974 film of the same name.

Facing the Giants

IMDB Rating – 6.5
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2006
Budget: $100,000
US box office receipts: $10,178,331
Director: Alex Kendrick
Starring: Alex Kendrick, Shannon Fields, Tracy Goode, Bailey Cave, Steve Williams, Tommy McBride, James Blackwell, Jim McBride, Ray Wood

How about a religious sports movie produced by Sherwood Pictures, a Christian independent film studio? It’s motivation squared for people of faith. The movie’s director, Alex Kendrick, plays the role of Grant Taylor, the coach of a Christian high school football team.

Things are not going well in Grant’s life. The team is losing steadily, disagreements with his wife torment him, and the house is deteriorating and needs repairs, for which there is no money. Behind the coach’s back, people start talking about replacing him. He realizes that he must get out of his difficulties and seeks support in prayer, at the same time beginning to engage in religious education of his charges.

The movie, made with $100,000 in volunteer money, earned 102 times more money at the box office than was spent on it.

Friday Night Lights

IMDB Rating – 7.2
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA, Germany / 2004
Budget: $30,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $61,950,770
Director: Peter Berg
Starring: Derek Luke, Lucas Black, Jay Hernandez, Garrett Hedlund, Tim McGraw, Billy Bob Thornton, Lee Jackson, Lee Thompson Young, Grover Colson, Connie Britton.

Based on true events, the American-German sports movie “In a Blaze of Glory” is the story of the 1988 winning season of a high school football team from the Texas town of Odessa.

The town has high hopes for its team, which aims to win the state championship. But a sudden injury to its most important player, offensive tackle James Miles, casts doubt on the future of the club, which has to play against successful small-town teams.

The real James Miles can be seen several times throughout the movie next to the actor playing him. He is a man wearing a black jacket and hat.

American Underdog

IMDB Rating – 7.1
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2021
US box office receipts: $26,514,814
Director: Andrew Erwin, John Erwin
Starring: Zachary Levi, Anna Paquin, Hayden Zaller, Ser’Darius Blaine, Dennis Quaid, Chance Kelly, Simeon Castille, Bruce McGill, Adam Baldwin, Cindy Hogan.

A motivated person can achieve a lot. And titles and titles – are they really that important? This biopic is the mind-blowing story of Kurt Warner, an athlete who won his 34th Super Bowl in 2000, was declared the No. 1 player in the NFL, but never qualified.

Young Kurt made a promise to himself as a kid to become a Super Bowl quarterback. He perseveres in pursuit of his dream despite numerous challenges. Tough workouts, constant rejections. His personal life has been pretty mixed. Having fallen in love with a woman with two children, one of whom is disabled, Kurt has taken on a lot of responsibilities. And he’s going to be happy. In everything.

This picture won the GMA Dove Award and the title of “Most Inspirational Movie”. By the way, Kurt Warner was inducted into the Football Hall of Fame, coaches at Brophy College and is happy with Brenda. The couple has seven children.

Two for the Money

IMDB Rating – 6.2
Genre: Drama, Crime, Sports
Production: USA / 2005
Budget: $35,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $30,526,509
Director: D.J. Caruso
Starring: Al Pacino, Matthew McConaughey, Rene Russo, Armand Assante, Jeremy Piven, Jamie King, Kevin Chapman, Ralph Garmen, Gedde Watanabe, Carly Pope.

We all know by now that Matthew McConaughey is a big fan (and former player) of football, and often appears in sports movies. Along with Al Pacino, he tells the story of the curious career of the real-life Brandon Lang.

A former talented football player Brandon, forced to leave the sport due to injury, moves to New York, accepting the offer of a successful bookmaker Walter Abrams, who is delighted by the accuracy of Brandon’s predictions.

Deep knowledge of the game, personal experience, information about most of the stars help Lang earn huge money, which, of course, he shares with Walter. But gradually the game changes, new athletes appear, and Brandon’s predictions become more and more random.

Matthew McConaughey’s father is a professional football player, and the actor himself played on the University of Texas team.

My All-American

IMDB Rating – 7.1
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2015
Budget: $20,000,000
US box office receipts: $2,246,000
Director: Angelo Pizzo
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Finn Wittrock, Robin Tunney, Sarah Bolger, Rhett Terrell, Michael Reilly Burke, Juston Street, Donnie Boas, Jordan Shipley, Alex McNicholl

Another real and highly sentimental story that tells of the cruel fate of Freddie Steinmark, Longhorn quarterback of the late 60’s.

Ever since he was a kid, Freddie was learning to play football, dreaming of the game. Coach Darrell Royal, seeing the young player’s aspirations, helped get him a full scholarship to the University of Texas to play football. Freddie trains hard and plans a future with his girlfriend. But the brighter his victories, the worse his health …

The movie is based on a biography of Freddie by Jim Dent, a book called Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story.

The Game Plan

IMDB Rating – 6.4
Genre: Comedy, Family, Sports
Production: USA / 2007
Budget: $22,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $147,869,324
Director: Andy Fickman
Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Madison Pettis, Kyra Sedgwick, Roselyn Sanchez, Morris Chestnut, Hayes McArthur, Brian J. White, Jamal Duff, Paige Turco, Tubbs.

Dwayne Johnson is another actor who is crazy about football. In this light and fun sports comedy, he stars as Joe Kingman, a confident, tough professional player who is extremely valued on the team.

Joe is an inveterate bachelor, and one day 8-year-old Peyton falls on his head like snow, claiming to be Kingman’s daughter. In a very short time, this cute little girl remakes Joe’s character, making him a caring father from an unscrupulous thug.

The role of Spike’s dog was played by two bulldogs, Tubbs and Tank.

All Things Fall Apart

IMDB Rating – 5.4
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2011
Budget: $7,000,000
Director: Mario Van Peebles
Starring: Fifty Saint, Ray Liotta, Lynn Whitfield, Cedric Sanders, Mike P., Steve Eastin, Chanel Farrell, Corey Large, Shelton Rodriguez, Henry Ramsey

Deon Barnes is a promising and enthusiastic young football player who aspires to go pro to provide for his mother and younger brother. The family does everything to support Deon, and he is quite confident in his future.

However, on the eve of the NFL draft, he is diagnosed with cancer. The guy learns that any physical effort will aggravate his disease and can lead to a quick death. Now he has to quit football and look for a quiet job. But will he be able to live like that?

Rapper Fifty Saint, who played Deon, went on a strict diet to prepare for the role and quickly gained the weight back after filming.

The Longshots

IMDB Rating – 5.5
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Family, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2008
Budget: $23,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $11,766,988
Director: Fred Durst
Starring: Ice Cube, Keke Palmer, Tasha Smith, Jill Marie Jones, Dash Mayock, Matt Craven, Glenn Plummer, Garrett Morris, Miles Chandler, Malcolm Goodwin.

The plot of “The Outsiders” is based on the story of a real-life girl, Jasmin Plummer, from the small town of Harvey, who became famous for being the quarterback on her high school team and reaching the semifinals of the national junior varsity competition. And she was the first girl to ever do it!

Black, fragile and obsessed with football – everyone around her treated Jasmin’s hobby as a short-lived blight, but she was able to prove otherwise. A lot of the story is recycled for better sentimentality, but the movie benefits from that.

Performer Keke Palmer spent almost 2 months practicing throwing the ball correctly and announcing shenanigans like a real quarterback.

When the Game Stands Tall

IMDB Rating – 6.6
Genre: Drama, Family, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2014
Budget: $15,000,000
US box office receipts: $30,127,963
Director: Thomas Carter
Starring: James Caviezel, Michael Chiklis, Alexander Ludwig, Clancy Brown, Laura Dern, Matthew Daddario, Joe Massingill, Jesse Asher, Ser’Darius Blaine, Stephan James

“The Spartans, Concord’s varsity football team, had the longest winning streak in history: 12 seasons, 151 games without a loss. The victories built the team’s character, but it all came crashing down one day when they lost to an outsider.

In the late summer of 2004, the Spartans coach is stunned by the loss and loses control. His best players are leaving for school, his family is falling apart, and he must now assemble a new team and motivate the players to play at their best again.

The movie is based on the book When The Game Stands Tall by Neil Hayes, which is based on real events.

Draft Day

IMDB Rating – 6.8
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2014
Budget: $25,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $29,824,199
Director: Ivan Reitman
Starring: Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Sam Elliott, Ellen Burstyn, Chadwick Boseman, Chris Berman, Dave Donaldson, Patrick St. Esprit

The sports drama with Kevin Costner tells the story of Sonny Weaver, manager of the Cleveland Browns football team, who on the eve of the 2014 NFL Draft must make a major reshuffle in the team and ensure victory for his club.

However, Sonny’s thoughts are occupied by other problems. The recent death of his father has caused an escalating conflict with his ailing mother. Ali, Sonny’s girlfriend, has announced that she is pregnant by him. And these life problems, too, require balanced decisions. The protagonist will face several extremely stressful days…..

This is director Ivan Reitman’s last movie before his passing.

Concussion

IMDB Rating – 7.1
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: UK, Australia, USA / 2015
Budget: $35,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $48,623,572
Director: Peter Landesman
Starring: Will Smith, Alec Baldwin, Albert Brooks, Gugu Embata-Raw, David Morse, Arliss Howard, Mike O’Malley, Eddie Marsan, Hill Harper, Adewale Akinnoye-Agbaje

Peter Landesman’s movie about football with Will Smith is based on real events. But this is not just an inspiring story of overcoming and triumphs, here everything is much more complicated. By the way, the initial idea for the script belongs to director Ridley Scott.

Coroner Bennet Omalu (Smith) performs an autopsy on Mike Webster, a former pro football player who began to lose his memory and ended up living as a drifter. Bennet is amazed at how a healthy man, a former athlete with no substance use, can degenerate so much in a short time. Soon the doctor discovers the same symptoms in three other deceased football players and begins to build a pattern that leads him to horrifying conclusions.

The story of Bennet Omalu’s research is real. His work has uncovered over-injury in football and changed its rules.

Second String

IMDB Rating – 5.8
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Sports
Production: USA / 2002
Director: Robert Lieberman
Starring: Jon Voight, Gil Bellows, Teri Polo, Richard T. Jones, Garcelle Beauvais, George Eads, Charles Malik Whitfield, Lamont Johnson, Ingo Neuhaus, Shawn Woods.

Light sports comedy tells the events in the famous Buffalo Bills team with humor and drive. The team is winning the division, and coach Chuck Dichter is confident that the triumphant performance in the Super Bowl.

But a month before the key matchup, his team, celebrating wins, goes out of commission after poisoning itself with oysters at a holiday dinner. The coach has to scrounge up a bunch of misfits, weirdos, old guys, and ballers. And now insurance agent Dan Heller, who has long since retired from football, is forced to prepare this gathering for confrontation with the strongest opponents.

Several actual Buffalo Bills players play themselves in the movie.

Touchback

IMDB Rating – 6.5
Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Family, Sports
Production: USA / 2011
Budget: $5,000,000
US box office receipts: $204,232
Director: Don Handfield
Starring: Brian Presley, Melanie Lynskey, Kurt Russell, Christine Lati, Mark Blucas, Sarah Wright, Sianoa Smith-McPhee, Drew Powell, Kevin Coveyes, David Scott Lopez

This is a fantastic story about time travel, which every person sometimes wants to do. Scott is a former football player whose career was ended by an injury.

Twenty years have passed since then. Scott is a farmer and volunteer firefighter. He has a troubled family, a huge farm, and tons of debt. He decides to commit suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning, but instead of dying, he is transported 20 years back to 1991, on the eve of the big game, which was the turning point in Scott’s fate. Having received a second chance, our hero is not going to miss it.

The movie was released in limited editions in the United States and China.

Woodlawn

IMDB Rating – 6.4
Genre: Drama, Biography, History, Sports
Production: USA / 2015
Budget: $12,000,000
US box office receipts: $14,394,097
Director: Andrew Erwin, John Erwin
Starring: Sean Astin, Nick Bishop, Caleb Castille, Sherri Shepherd, Jon Voight, Joy Brunson, Lance E. Nichols, Devon Franklin, Si Thomas Howell, Kevin Sizemore

Another sports drama with a hint of religiosity. Coach Tandy Geralds believes only in what he sees with his own eyes. As he tries to unite an interracial high school football team, he fails miserably as a husband and father. And he’s seriously worried about gifted black man Tony Nathan, a religious kid who promises to be a real football star.

But everything changes for Geralds and his team when one day sports chaplain Hank convinces the coach to let him give a motivational speech to the players. Though not immediately, the young athletes are imbued with the ideas of love and tolerance, changing themselves and the entire town, creating a strong and powerful team capable of winning.

The movie’s football scenes were filmed at various high school stadiums in the state of Alabama.

The Junction Boys

IMDB Rating – 6.3
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2002
Director: Mike Roob
Starring: Tom Berenger, Bernard Curry, Fletcher Humphries, Ryan Kwanten, Nick Tate, Ewen Leslie, Luke Ford, Joseph Behr, Ryan Johnson, Mark Lee.

A biopic about some of the events in the life of Paul William, known as “Bear Bryant”, who is considered by many to be the greatest college coach in football. He became famous for his work at the University of Alabama, but before that, Paul had many other interesting events in his life.

The story begins with Paul’s first days on the job at a Texas college. He discovers that most of the members of the school team are there because their fathers want them to be, but in reality the guys don’t care about the game. Football is just a way for them to improve their grades. So Paul decides to take them to a remote camp for the summer to make a real sports team out of a bunch of slackers.

The movie is based on acclaimed biographer Jim Dent’s 2001 book of the same name.

Leatherheads

IMDB Rating – 6.0
Genre: Drama, Melodrama, Comedy, Sports
Production: USA, Germany / 2008
Budget: $58,000,000
Worldwide Box Office: $41,299,492
Director: George Clooney
Starring: George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce, David De Fries, Rick Forrester, Craig S. Harper, Malcolm Goodwin, Matt Bushnell, Tommy Hinckley.

This football romcom is a fascinating George Clooney production starring Renee Zellweger and Clooney himself. The action unfolds in the charming atmosphere of the 20s of the last century, especially fascinating are the sports uniforms of the players!

Dodge Connelly is an old captain of a minor league team, who stubbornly believes that his club will become famous all over the world and win great trophies. One day he lures young Carter, who is not only strong on the pitch but also a glorious hero of the First World War, into his team. But the clever reporter Lexi Littleton doubts both Carter’s talents and his heroic biography.

The character played by Clooney is based on a real person, the famous football player of the 20s Johnny McNally. The athlete was famous not only for his achievements in the game, but also for his off-field scandals.

Paterno

IMDB Rating – 6.5
Genre: Drama, Crime, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2018
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Al Pacino, Kathy Baker, Riley Keough, Greg Granberg, Annie Parris, Peter Jacobson, Steve Coulter, Kenneth Maharaj, Michael Mastro

A somber biographical drama in which Al Pacino plays the role of Joe Paterno, one of the best coaches in football in the second half of the 20th century, who died in 2012.

An elderly, retired coach, Paterno undergoes a medical examination and reminisces about his life. A meteoric career, a string of high-profile victories, successes, family, worldwide fame, many honors, titles and cups. And then – resurfaced from the past nightmarish facts of his abuse of children, including sexual. Accusations, public outcry, resignation and fatal illness….

This movie was originally going to be directed by Brian De Palma, but he later abandoned the project and the director’s chair was given to Barry Levinson.

Brian’s Song

IMDB Rating – 6.6
Genre: Drama, Sports
Production: USA / 2001
Director: John Gray
Starring: Sean Maher, Mekhai Phifer, Paula Kale, Elise Neal, Aidan Devine, Dean McDermott, Ben Gazzara, Michael Boisvert, Jeff Ironey, Shane Daly.

This amazing and true story of true friendship overcoming any odds unfolds in the late 60s. Bold, energetic and white Brian Piccolo meets quiet and seemingly arrogant black man Gale Sayers when they both end up on the same team, the Chicago Bears.

At first, the two guys are too different to feel anything but intense distrust for each other. Brian even promises to outplay Gale and kick the latter off the team. When Gale gets injured, Piccolo takes it upon himself to rehabilitate him so he can beat him fairly instead of taking advantage of his opponents’ weaknesses. During his recovery time, the guys bond and become great friends. And then Brian is diagnosed with cancer, and only Gale stays by his side until the end.

This picture is a remake of the 1971 TV movie with the same title.

Safety

IMDB Rating – 6.8
Genre: Drama, Biography, Sports
Production: USA / 2020
Director: Reginald Hudlin
Starring: Jay Reeves, Javy Jackson, Thadeus J. Mixon, Corina Fox, Matthew Glave, James Badge Dale, Hunter Sanson, Miles Burris, Isaac Bell, Elijah Shane Bell

Ray McElrathby is a university student on a football scholarship. He combines studies and football, falls in love, gets involved in campus life and tries to forget about his dysfunctional family.

But one day Ray learns that his mother has lost her temper and is using drugs again, and his younger brother Fahmarr is with strangers. Ray decides to take his brother in order not to lose him in the social system of care. From that moment the main character’s life changes, and he will have to fight for his football, for a place at university, and for his brother, gradually realizing what is most important in life.

The movie is based on the true story of Ray McElrathby, a Clemson Tigers player.

30 Best Football Movies