11 Epic Football Movies Based on True Stories for Sports Fans

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 62%

Starring Dennis Quaid, Rob Brown, and Chadwick Boseman, The Express: The Ernie Davis Story is about a young collegiate football player named Ernie Davis (Brown), and his journey to becoming the first black player to ever win the Heisman Trophy while battling a severe health issue. The storyline comes from the 1983 book written by Robert C. Gallagher, Ernie Davis: The Elmira Express, and received positive reviews despite its disappointing return at the box office. The box office return shouldn't dissuade you from giving the film a shot as aside from the numbers, the reviews from critics were mostly positive.

In 2023, this is a film that probably would have been released on streaming as opposed to theaters, but of course in 2008, that wasn't an option. It is, however, an option now, so take advantage of it.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

Released in 1979, North Dallas Forty is a satire film about a veteran wide receiver named Phil Elliott known to have had "the best hands in the game." As Elliott is aging, he relies heavily on painkillers, and is heavily set in his ways with a defiant attitude, which causes him to frequently clash with his coach. Meanwhile, Elliott's younger teammates are living the fast life so to speak as popular athletes, and when you combine that with Elliott's poor attitude alongside other drama, this team has a lot going on. North Dallas Forty is considered a classic sports film, and is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Peter Gent, a Dallas Cowboys wide receiver in the late 1960s.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Alrighty here's a little history lesson for some of you. From 1969 to 1975, ABC would air a made-for-tv movie every week, and Brian's Song was one of those movies. Perhaps we'll do a deeper dive into ABC Movie of the Week and some the most popular films aired during its six-year run, but for now we'll focus solely on Brian's Song which is about two teammates on a Chicago Bears team from the mid-1960s, which was a time where racial segregation was still very tense. The friendship between the two teammates winds up becoming a symbol of harmony during the Civil Rights Era which grows stronger through obstacles and challenges.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

The Blind Side is a film that you have more than likely seen already, but in case you haven't, the movie stars Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw as a couple who become the legal guardians of a homeless black teen named Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron). Oher is a talented football player, and his life changes drastically under the guardianship of the couple both as a student and a football player. The Blind Side is based on a 2006 book of the same name, though the movie is a rather condensed version of what happens in the book.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 78%

Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Sean Austin are some of the major names that star in 1993's Rudy, which is about football student Rudy Ruettiger (Austin) who wants to play at the University of Notre Dame, but lacks the finances and grades for a scholarship. Rudy also struggles with dyslexia (which is also a reason for the poor grades), but thanks to a willing mentor (Favreau), he's able to gain admission to Notre Dame where he goes for a shot at making the football team.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 72%

Denzel should have won an Oscar for this role, and we will forever stick by that sentiment. Based on the true story of the 1971 Virginia state football champions from T.C. Williams High School, Washington portrays Coach Herman Boone as he attempts to lead the team in early 70s Alexandria, Virginia, earning rave reviews for his performance. Remember the Titans grossed roughly $115.6 million in the U.S. and $136.8 million worldwide. We actually haven't seen this movie in a while, so this is a reminder to ourselves that we need to watch it again (and you probably need to as well).

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

Starring Tom Cruise as slick sports agent Jerry Maguire who gets fired after losing his patience and writing a letter expressing how he really feels about certain things within the company, Jerry Maguire is a tale about starting anew as he sets to build his own sports management firm. Along the way Maguire navigates the path of having your own sports agency while unexpectedly falling in love with a woman who has become his business partner. Jerry Maguire is based on the real-life story of sports agent Leigh Steinberg.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%

When it comes to all time football films, The Longest Yard has to be included on any list. Centered around disgraced pro football quarterback Paul Crewe (Sandler) who is in jail, things take a turn for the better (or worse depending on how you look at it) when Crewe lands the job of lead quarterback amongst a crew of his fellow inmates. The event quickly turns serious when Crewe along with fellow incarcerated ex-NFL coach Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds) and the inmates realize there's some serious rigging going on after a match against the prison guards. Together Crewe, Scarborough, and the rest of the inmates work to challenge the system.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 49%

We Are Marshall takes a turn from the "feel good" movies we've included on this list so far, as it's unfortunately based on the real events of the Marshall University football team and their accompanying staff and acquaintances, whose lives were claimed in a tragic plane crash in 1970. 75 Marshall University members were lost in the accident, and several months later a new coach (Matthew McConaughey) arrives to not only rebuild the football team, but to also help with the grieving process amongst the staff, students, and alumni.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 96%

Winning an Academy Award in 2012 for "Best Documentary," Undefeated chronicles the Manassas High School football team in North Memphis who has never won a playoff game in the history of their team. That is until 2009 when coach Bill Courtney has the team looking like they might finally have a chance at breaking their school's 110-year playoff losing streak. Were they successful? You have to watch the documentary to find out.

• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

American Underdog is a young movie on this list compared to the others, but still very much worth the watch as it tells the story of Kurt Warner as he overcomes years of challenges and setbacks to ultimately become an all-time NFL great where he notches the accolades of two-time NFL MVP, Super Bowl champion, and Hall of Fame quarterback.