Best Football Movies Of All Time: 15+ Films For Football Fanatics

Best Football Movies (Top Picks At A Glance)

There are plenty of great football movies to choose from if you’re looking for a good flick to watch that’s related to the sport. We’re here to keep you away from the trash! Whether you’re a fan of football or not, these movies are sure to entertain.

The list we have curated contains all the best football movies we were able to find for your viewing pleasure. So get ready for a night full of inspiring stories and fist-clenching touchdowns!

Varsity Blues Movie Description

Moxon (James Van Der Beek) is a talented quarterback with big dreams, but when he’s promoted to starter for his high school football team, he finds the pressure tough to handle.

With the hopes of an entire town on his shoulders, Moxon struggles to stay focused on his own goals while leading the team to victory.

The Blindside Movie Description

Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), a black teen who has been homeless for years, is taken in by Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) and her husband Sean (Tim McGraw).

The Tuohys eventually become Michael’s legal guardians. With help from his new family and devoted tutor, Michael realizes his potential as both a student and football player.

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Remember The Titans Movie Description

The tradition of high school football in Alexandria, Virginia is deeply entrenched. Every game is celebrated more lavishly than Christmas, and each playoff is distinguished more grandly than any national holiday.

But when the local school board integrated an all-black school with an all-white school, football’s great tradition was put to the test.

The Waterboy Movie Description

Bobby Boucher Jr. (Adam Sandler), raised by his overprotective mother, Helen (Kathy Bates), starts out as the water boy for a successful college football team coached by Red Beaulieu (Jerry Reed). However, after Beaulieu fires Bobby, he takes up the same position for a rival and losing team that is led by despairing Coach Klein (Henry Winkler).

Nevertheless, after Klein witnesses Bobby beating up a player who teases him too much during one of their practices together, Klein adds Bobby to his roster as a linebacker. Consequently from then onward, Klein’s players become championship contenders.

Little Giants Movie Description

Danny O’Shea, who has always felt inferior to his successful brother Kevin, starts a competing youth football team when Kevin’s team rejects Danny’s daughter Becky.

Proving himself against his brother becomes Danny’s goal as he coaches his team of misfits for a playoff game.

The Replacement Movie Description

It’s late in the season, and the playoffs are just around the corner. But when the Washington Sentinels go on strike, their owner Edward O’Neil has to scramble for a solution. His plan? To bring in legendary coach Jimmy McGinty to recruit a team of replacement players in just one week.

For both fans and owners, the strike is a complete catastrophe. However, for Shane Falco and his group of other outsiders, this is the second chance they’ve always dreamed of having.

Friday Night Lights Movie Description

When the star tailback, Boobie Miles (Derek Luke), is seriously injured during the first game of the season, the town’s dormant social problems begin to flare up.

Coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) must inspire the team to victory and teach them a sense of self-respect.

Air Bud Movie Description

After his basketball-playing dog, Buddy, is legally passed down to him, teenager Josh (Kevin Zegers) finds out that the animal can also play football. This happens due to veterinarian Patrick Sullivan (Gregory Harrison), who starts dating Josh’s mom.

Unluckily, Josh and Patrick don’t get along well. However, when a pair of Russians sees Buddy playing on television and kidnaps him for their circus show, the two of them must work together in order to retrieve the doggy and set him free again.

Greater Movie Description

Despite being told he wasn’t good enough to play Division I football, Brandon Burlsworth walked on in 1994. He became the most respected player in the history of the program, and his story is one of determination and overcoming adversity.

Invincible Movie Description

Vince Papale, a lifelong football fan and 30-year-old high school alma mater teacher in Pennsylvania, becomes a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.

With this opportunity, he became the oldest rookie in NFL history who never played football in college (besides kickers).

Concussion Movie Description

Dr. Bennet Omalu (Will Smith), a forensic pathologist, discovered neurological deterioration while researching former NFL football player Mike Webster (David Morse). Named chronic traumatic encephalopathy, this disorder was similar to Alzheimer’s disease.

As other athletes faced the same diagnosis, Dr. Omalu embarked on a mission to raise public awareness about the dangers of football-related head trauma.

Necessary Roughness Movie Description

After a university football team is dismantled for breaking collegiate rules, new coaches Wally Riggendorf (Robert Loggia) and Ed Gennero (Héctor Elizondo) choose unlikely players like junior professor Andre Krimm (Sinbad) and 30-something quarterback Paul Blake (Scott Bakula).

As Paul begins to court professor Suzanne Carter (Harley Jane Kozak), the team starts to improve with the arrival of a female placekicker.

We Are Marshall Movie Description

Jack Lengyel (Matthew McConaughey) arrives at Marshall University in March 1971, just a few months after a plane crash killed 75 of the school’s football players, staff members, and boosters.

Lengyel is determined to rebuild Marshall’s Thundering Herd and help heal the grieving community.

Undefeated Movie Description

Never having won a playoff game in its 110-year history, the Manassas High School football team in North Memphis gets help from former high-school coach Bill Courtney in 2004.

With a focus on both the players’ physical and emotional strengths, the Tigers are finally led by their star player O.C. to success in 2009.

The Longest Yard Movie Description

After former professional football quarterback Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) is caught up in a scandal, he’s sent to jail where Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) convinces him to help train the prison inmates’ team.

What Crewe didn’t bargain for was being recruited as the team’s starting quarterback in a game against the prison guards. With the help of Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), an ex-NFL coach who is also incarcerated, they must try and beat not only skilled opponents but also ones that are trying to fix the game.

Rudy Movie Description

Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin) has always dreamed of playing football at Notre Dame, but when he can’t afford the tuition and doesn’t have good enough grades for a scholarship, it seems like his dream will never come true.

But after Rudy’s best friend dies in an accident at the steel mill where they both work with Rudy’s dad, Rudy becomes determined to make his dreams come true. With help from D-Bob (Jon Favreau), overcoming dyslexia along the way, Rudy eventually gets into Notre Dame and begins working hard to get a spot on their well-known football team.

5 More Football Movies (Honorable Mentions)

Football movies have a special place in the hearts of sports fans and movie lovers alike. While our top picks for the best football movies cover a wide range of themes, emotions, and stories, there are many other films that deserve a mention for their great storytelling, iconic scenes, and powerful performances.

From inspirational underdog stories to intense and thrilling dramas, these movies capture the excitement and passion of the sport while also exploring deeper themes of friendship, family, and perseverance. So if you’ve watched through all our top picks, make sure to add these to your watchlist next!

• Home Team (2022)
• American Underdog (2021)
• Gridiron Gang (2006)
• Draft Day (2014)
• National Champions (2021)