Best On Netflix

The 17 Sports Movies On Netflix With The Highest Rotten Tomatoes Scores

By Claire Spellberg @c_spellberg

Published July 17, 2018, 8:30 a.m. ET

Nothing beats a great sports movie, and here are the 17 best currently on Netflix.©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy

poster art — ***The Endless Summer***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
This 1966 documentary follows two friends as they travel around the world searching for the perfect wave. In the 1960s, few Americans were familiar with surfing, and for many, *The Endless Summer* provided an engaging introduction to the sport. No matter how you feel about surfing, this doc will inspire you to get out on the waves (even if you stick to a boogey board).
[Stream The Endless Summer]Courtesy Everett Collection

football players — ***The 4th Company***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
American football movies are easy to find, but a Mexican football movie? Those are few and far between. This Netflix Original movie tells the story of Zambrano, a juvenile offender who joins the football (not futbol) team at Santa Martha prison. Zambrano quickly learns that the team doubles as an enforcer squad for the prison's corrupt administration, and the revelation prompts him to question his own innocence.
[Stream The 4th Company]©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection / Everett Collection

baseball guys — ***The Battered Bastards of Baseball***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 100%
Who doesn't love a good underdog story? *The Battered Bastards of Baseball* follows the true story of the Portland Mavericks, an independent minor league baseball team owned by actor Bing Russell. A feel-good story with 1970s flair, *The Battered Bastards of Baseball* is a sports movie you don't want to miss.
[Stream The Battered Bastards of Baseball]Courtesy Everett Collection

arnold sch muscles — ***Pumping Iron***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%
If you've always been curious to see how Arnold Schwarzenegger got his start, now is your chance. *Pumping Iron* follows the five-time Mr. Olympia winner as he competes for another bodybuilding championship, and it's every bit as oily as you'd expect. Come for the muscles, stay for the drama between the future Terminator and his rival Lou Ferrigno.
[Stream Pumping Iron]Everett

painting of joe paterno — ***Happy Valley***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 89%
No scandal has rocked college football quite like the Jerry Sandusky scandal at Penn State. *Happy Valley* dives into the world of Joe Paterno, Penn State's legendary coach, and the program's tumultuous year following Sandusky's child sexual assault arrest. It's by no means uplifting, but if you're a college football fan, it's a must-see.
[Stream Happy Valley]Everett

usain bolt — ***I Am Bolt***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85%
Have you ever wondered what it's like to be, like, really, really fast? This riveting doc follows Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt's rapid rise to Olympic dominance and features interviews with famous athletes like Serena Williams, Pele, and Neymar to better understand what it's like to be a world-class athlete.
[Stream I Am Bolt]Everett

girl wrestler — ***First Match***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 84%
Elvire Emanuelle stars as Mo, a high school girl who has spent her entire life in foster homes in Brooklyn. When Mo's father returns from prison, she tries to reconnect with him by joining the all-boys' wrestling team -- a task that is much easier said than done.
[Stream First Match]Everett

neil armstrong on bike — ***The Armstrong Lie***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%
Few athletes are as interesting as Lance Armstrong, the now-disgraced cyclist. Alex Gibney's *The Armstrong Lie* follows the cyclist from 2009 to 2012, when he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs on the race circuit. If you're a sports fan, Gibney's intense documentary will stick with you longer than your old Livestrong bracelets.
[Stream The Armstrong Lie]Everett

football locker room — ***Friday Night Lights***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%
The *Friday Night Lights* series may have left Netflix, but the 2004 film that started it all remains. The movie follows a similar plot: in small-town Texas, towns live and die by high school football, and the coaches, players, and community will stop at nothing to win it all. Billy Bob Thornton's Coach Gaines may not stack up to Kyle Chandler's Coach Taylor, but his performance comes pretty darn close.
[Stream Friday Night Lights]Everett

ice hockey — ***Miracle***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%
*Miracle* is truly the perfect movie. It has everything: Kurt Russell, political importance, and some damn good hockey sequences. The Cold War may be over, but the United States' relationship with Russia is as rocky as ever, so now is the perfect time to watch this great movie.
[Stream Miracle]Everett

baseball field — 42
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Jackie Robinson's story came to life in 42, Brian Helgeland's take on the life of the fearless baseball player. As the movie explains, breaking down the color barrier in the MLB was anything but easy, and it took years for fans and the league's management accept Robinson's talent. 42 tells the story of one career breakthrough, but it also features another: Chadwick Boseman got his big break as Number 42 himself. Look how far you've come, Black Panther.
[Stream 42]Everett

***The Phenom***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
After a rough rookie showing, major-league pitcher Hopper Gibson is sent down to the minors, where he turns to an unorthodox sports psychologist for help. As the two develop a friendship, Hopper realizes that his problems stem from a negative relationship with his overbearing father, and he begins to turn his career (and their relationship) around.
[Stream The Phenom]Everett

skier girl — ***Chalet Girl***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%
Ex-skateboarder Kim Matthews thinks that she'll never ride again, but all that changes when she finds herself at a fancy ski resort in the Alps. Kim begins snowboarding, and she begins eyeing a major competition at the end of the season -- and her boss' handsome son. Will Kim be able to stick the landing on both the guy and the competition? This romantic comedy is anything but surprising, but if you're looking for a sports-centric love story, *Chalet Girl* is the movie for you. [Stream Chalet Girl]Everett

golfing — ***Happy Gilmore***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 60%
How do you talk about golf movies without mentioning *Happy Gilmore*, the Adam Sandler classic? Sandler stars as a hockey fan named happy who decides he's going to win the PGA tournament in order to help his grandmother save her home. *Happy Gilmore* hit theaters over 20 years ago, but the unconventional golfer (and his now-iconic swing) will always have a special place in our hearts.
[Stream Happy Gilmore]Everett

bloody boxer — ***Southpaw***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 59%
Watching Jake Gyllenhaal take on the story of Billy "The Great" Hope, reigning Junior Middleweight Boxing Champion of the world, is just pure fun. When tragedy strikes, Billy hits rock bottom, but a rough-and-tumble boxing mentor coaches him back to greatness and prepares him for the toughest fight yet: winning back his daughter's trust.
[Stream Southpaw]Everett

football player and mascot — ***The Waterboy***
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 35%
There is absolutely zero reason why *The Waterboy* should have a mere 35% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and yet here we are. Adam Sandler's football classic is hilarious, uplifting, and gritty -- everything you need in a good sports movie. Plus, it's educational: we certainly wouldn't know what a medulla oblongata is without *The Waterboy*. Don't worry, South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs, you're 100% fresh in our eyes.
[Stream The Waterboy]Everett

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Who doesn’t love a good underdog story? There’s something special about a David versus Goliath story, especially when sports are involved. Cheering for the underdog is an American pastime as old as baseball (or the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, if you prefer food-related sports), so it’s no wonder that there are so many movies dedicated to the love of the game. Practically every sport has its own iconic movie — soccer has Bend It Like Beckham, basketball has Hoosiers, and football has Rudy, Remember the Titans, The Longest Yard, and like 12 others — and luckily, many of those great films are available to stream on Netflix.

No matter what sport you prefer, Netflix has a movie (or five!) that will make you wish you were outside playing instead of sitting on your couch watching TV. Are you desperately waiting for football to return in the fall? Netflix has both American football movies, including Friday Night Lights and Undefeated, and international football (that’s football, not futbol) fare like The 4th Company. Are you fully absorbed in summertime baseball? During a bye day, check out documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball or 42, Chadwick Boseman’s take on Jackie Robinson’s boundary-breaking story. Or maybe you’re more of an extreme sports fan? Netflix has plenty of movies about surfing, skiing, and snowboarding, so you won’t have to watch X-Games re-runs any longer. Regardless of your mood and streaming needs, Netflix’s sports offerings will make you feel as overwhelmed with options as a five-star recruit on National Signing Day (too much with the sports metaphors?).

Are you wondering where to begin? We’re here to help you on your streaming journey. We went through Netflix’s offerings to find the best of the best. These are the 17 best sports movies on Netflix (well, 16 and one sleeper hit) ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes Critic Scores.