As the new NFL campaign approaches and the college football schedule gets underway, sports fans around the world tune their routines back to gridiron entertainment. Beyond live games, fantasy draft prep, and scanning the early season football betting lines, a post-game movie marathon or mid-week documentary binge is often the best way to stay in the football mindset.
Depending on regional licensing, Netflix holds a solid collection of football-themed movies, docuseries, and Oscar-nominated shorts. From hard-hitting true stories to lighthearted family comedies, here are some of the best titles currently available to stream.
Home Team
Based on an odd-but-true chapter in modern sports history, Home Team offers a lighthearted look at life away from the high-stakes NFL spotlight. The comedy stars Kevin James as former New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton, who, while serving a year-long league suspension following the 2012 “Bountygate” scandal, ends up coaching his 12-year-old son’s struggling youth team in Texas. While it leans heavily into classic sports-movie tropes, its focus on second chances and father-son dynamics makes it an easy, feel-good watch for family movie night.
Audible
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, Audible is a moving look at resilience both on and off the field. Directed by Matt Ogens, the film centers on Amaree McKenstry-Hall and his teammates at the Maryland School for the Deaf as they navigate their senior year of high school football. Facing the emotional weight of a close friend’s suicide and an impending exit from a tight-knit community, the players use the game as an anchor. It is an inspiring, raw study of adversity that goes far beyond typical sports storytelling.
Quarterback
Few positions in professional sports carry as much psychological pressure as the NFL quarterback. Produced by NFL Films and Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions, this eight-part docuseries offers an intimate look at the relentless grind required to lead a franchise. Following Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins, and Marcus Mariota throughout the 2022 season, the camera catches everything from mic’d-up on-field calls to post-game recovery routines and family life. For viewers interested in the tactical and mental strain behind game day, Quarterback is essential viewing.
Titletown High
High school football in the American South is practically a religion, and nowhere is that intensity more visible than in Valdosta, Georgia. Titletown High explores the high-stakes world of the Valdosta Wildcats, one of the most decorated high school football programs in the United States. Across eight episodes, the docuseries balances complex locker room dynamics and rigorous coaching expectations with the everyday personal lives of adolescent athletes trying to secure college scholarships.
Coach Snoop
While many know Snoop Dogg for his hip-hop career, his long-standing commitment to youth empowerment through the Snoop Youth Football League (SYFL) is one of his most impactful endeavors. Coach Snoop follows the rapper and his dedicated coaching staff as they mentor inner-city teenagers in Los Angeles. Using football as a vehicle to keep at-risk youth focused on academic and personal success, the series combines humor, genuine heart, and a grounded look at community mentorship.
