The Greatest Football Movies of All Time

In this family comedy, Rick Moranis and Ed O’Neill play brothers living in a small Ohio town. They wind up becoming coaches of rival Pee Wee Football teams. And, of course, they end up in a big game for the championship. The movie even has a little nod to feminism.

In one of Adam Sandler’s most beloved movies, the comedian plays a somewhat mentally challenged man who is the water boy for the University of Louisiana football team. Often mistreated by the players, he is fired after being labeled “a distraction.” He finds a new job as water boy for the ne’er-do-well South Central Louisiana State University. Ultimately, he winds up as a player for the Mud Dogs in the Bourbon Bowl, where they face his former team. You can guess what happens next.

In this drama based on a true story, the main character, Travis Freeman, is a high school football star in Kentucky until he loses his sight because of a bacterial meningitis infection. As he struggles to adjust to his blindness, he just can’t give up his love for football. With the encouragement of his coach, he manages to find his way back onto the gridiron.

In this Christian drama, Alex Kendrick plays Coach Grant Taylor, who just can’t win. Literally. He goes into his seventh season with a losing record and promptly loses the first three games of the season. Meanwhile, he discovers that he is unable to get his wife pregnant. So he takes a different approach, praising God after every game, even if it is a loss. The story culminates in the big game, with everything on the line, and Taylor’s field goal kicker looking at what seems to be an impossible 51-yard attempt.

In this drama based on a true story, Ryan Merriman plays Jon Abbate, whose 15-year-old brother is killed in a car crash caused by a reckless teenage driver. Abbate becomes motivated to play for the Wake Forest football team in honor of his brother, leading the Demon Deacons to success.

In this comedy, a fictional pro football league turns to replacement players after the regular players go on strike. Keanu Reeves plays Shane Falco, a washed out former college football quarterback who is living on a houseboat. Coach Jimmy McGinty, played by Gene Hackman, recruits him for the replacement team, giving him a chance at redemption.

Based on the 1972 novel by sportswriter Dan Jenkins, this comedy has Burt Reynolds and Kris Kristofferson playing pro football players who whose friendship with the team owner’s daughter becomes a romantic triangle.

In this drama based on a true story, Freddie Steinmark (played by Finn Wittrock) wants nothing more in life than to play football. He does just that in high school but is considered too small to play college football. He finally wins a spot on the team of the University of Texas at Austin, where he encounters plenty of challenges on the way to the Cotton Bowl.

Based partly on a true story, the film has Ed Harris playing a high school football coach who develops a life-changing bond with Radio Kennedy, a developmentally challenged young man played by Cuba Gooding Jr.

In this NFL drama, Kevin Costner plays a fictional character who is the general manager of the Cleveland Browns. On Draft Day, he grapples with multiple concerns, both professional and personal. Chadwick Boseman makes a notable appearance as one of the players involved in the NFL Draft.

In this drama directed by Oliver Stone, Al Pacino plays Coach Tony D’Amato, whose job with the Miami Sharks is on the line after he falls into disfavor with team owner Christina Pagniacci, played by Cameron Diaz. The movie has plenty of cameo appearances from sports figures, including Dick Butkus, Y.A. Tittle, Pat Toomay, Warren Moon, Johnny Unitas, Emmitt Smith and Terrell Owens.

Based on a true story, this movie has Matthew McConaughey playing Jack Lengyel, who becomes takes on the daunting task of coaching the Marshall University football team after a plane crash kills 37 players, the head coach and five assistant coaches.

Based on an article published in GQ magazine, this movie stars Will Smith as Dr. Bennet Omalu, a forensic pathologist. The NFL tries to suppress his research on chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) brain degeneration suffered by professional football players.

Based on the life of the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, this film tells the story of Syracuse University Running back Ernie Davis (played by Rob Brown). Davis encountered many challenges on his way to winning the Heisman and afterward. The movie marks the film debut of Chadwick Boseman, who plays Floyd Little.

In this movie based on a true story, Mark Wahlberg portrays Vince Papale, a 30-year-old part-time bartender who lands a tryout with the Philadelphia Eagles and becomes the oldest rookie in the NFL. Papale played three seasons as a wide receiver under head coach Dick Vermeil, played by Greg Kinnear.

There may be no bigger name in Notre Dame football lore than Knute Rockne, who coached the Fighting Irish for 13 seasons. Pat O’Brien portrays Rockne is this film that The New York Times called “one of the best pictures for boys in years.” Notably, Ronald Reagan, who later became president of the United States, plays George Gipp — as in “Win one for the Gipper.”

In this satire of professional football, Nick Nolte plays an aging wide receiver who wants little more than to play football, retire and live on a horse farm. Along the way he indulges in sex, drugs and alcohol to the dismay of the team’s owners. The movie marked the film debut of country singer Mac Davis.

In this biographical drama, Quinton Aaron plays Michael Oher, an impoverished young black man who goes on to play in the NFL after being adopted by a white couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Touhey. Sandra Bullock won an Academy Award in the role of Leigh Anne. Keep a box of tissues handy.

This documentary, written and directed by Amir Bar-Lev, recounts the scandal at Penn State University after Jerry Sandusky, the longtime defensive coordinator, was charged with 40 counts of child sex abuse.

Based on a true story, Brian Banks, a young football player, sees his dream of playing in the NFL die after he is wrongly convicted of rape. Banks, played by Aldis Hodge, tries to revive that dream after he is released from prison.

Based on a book by H.G. Bissinger, this film portrays the culture and the drama of a high school football team in Odessa, Texas, as it makes a run for the state football championship. The movie won an ESPY Award for Best Sports Movie.

In this movie based on a true story, Sean Astin portrays Rudy Ruettiger, a young man who dreams of playing football for Notre Dame. Despite lacking the talent, size and money needed to accomplish his dream, Rudy decides to go for it anyway. This film has been known to make grown men — and women — cry.

Based on a true story, this movie recounts the struggles of Coach Herman Boone, played by Denzel Washington, as he tries to integrate a high school football team in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1971. Even though Boone says that it doesn’t matter to him whether a player is black or white, the coach has to deal with much more than X’s and O’s.

This documentary, directed by Daniel Landsay and T.J. Martin, looks at a struggling high school football team in Memphis, Tennessee, as it attempts to post a winning season after years and years of losses. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.