19 Best Sports Documentaries on Netflix For When You Want to Be a Team Player - Netflix Tudum

  • What To Watch

    19 Sports Documentaries That’ll Get Your Head in the Game

    Watch these when you want to go for the (streaming) gold.
    By Amanda Richards & Derek Lawrence
    Dec. 17, 2024

When it comes to watching great sports documentaries, the season never ends.

As the documentary industry rapidly grows, perhaps no subgenre has benefited more than the world of athletics. And those stories — whether they’re told as films, limited series, or ongoing productions — aren’t exclusively about the most famous athletes. Audiences have proven to be just as fascinated with previously unknown underdogs.

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If you manage to take an NFL Sunday off, you’re gearing up for the big games on Christmas Day, or your favorite squad missed out on the playoffs and you have time to spare, then we’ve assembled the ultimate team of sports documentaries for you to rally around. 

AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders

If you’re a fan of sports docs, there’s a very good chance you’re familiar with the work of Greg Whiteley. He’s the prolific master behind Last Chance U and Cheer (which both also appear on this list), and his latest, America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, follows the high-profile position of a Cowboys Cheerleader. America’s Sweethearts gives a peek inside what it takes to be a member of the squad: “The women are impressive when you see them all in a kick line — they’re in a row and they’re beautiful, athletic, and strong — they seem impenetrable,” Whiteley told Tudum. “I think that is made even more impressive when you realize that there’s a living, breathing human being underneath that facade.” 

AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
7 Episodes   TV-14   2024

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Beckham

This four-part documentary series from Academy Award–winning director Fisher Stevens (Palmer, And We Go Green, The Cove) and Academy Award– and Emmy Award–winning producer John Battsek (One Day in September, Searching for Sugar Man, Winter on Fire) gives fans never-before-seen insight into who David Beckham actually is. It includes an up-close look at his family, friends, teammates, and — yes — his shopping and cleaning habits. The result is an unprecedented look at an icon who, despite spending nearly 30 years in the public eye, just might surprise you.

Cheer

Created by Greg Whiteley following his success with Last Chance UCheer steps into the world of competitive cheerleading and follows the Navarro College Bulldogs, a powerhouse team from Corsicana, Texas. The first season sets up the sport for newcomers, while also introducing a memorable squad of characters — including dedicated head coach Monica Aldama — as they deal with the ups and downs of their latest championship push. But in the wake of the glowing reaction to the debut episodes, controversy struck Cheer: Breakout star Jerry Harris was arrested in late 2020 on charges of child pornography and other sex crimes involving minors. Season 2 of Cheer doesn’t shy away from addressing Harris’ actions, featuring reactions from his former team members and his victims.

Formula 1: Drive to Survive

The world’s hottest sport was barely on the radar of most Americans — and then Drive to Survive arrived. Since premiering in 2019, the docuseries has been credited for the staggering rise in popularity of the European racing association, Formula 1. Over six seasons, Drive has taken die-hard and casual fans inside every team (the storied Ferrari and Mercedes got on the bandwagon in Season 2) and showcased the lives and preparation of the owners, managers, and drivers, including superstars Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, whose headline-making race for the 2021 title was at the center of Season 4. 

Full Swing

This series delivers a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of pro golfers as they endure the challenges of the PGA tour, including all four of golf’s major championships. Full Swing takes golf fans across the course and into the players’ lives, documenting how careers can be made or broken in a single swing. 

Last Chance U

Taking inspiration from HBO’s Hard Knocks, which goes inside an NFL team during the preseason, Last Chance U explores the inner workings of junior college football. Over five seasons, the series made stops at East Mississippi Community College, Kansas’ Independence Community College, and Oakland’s Laney College. No matter the location, Whiteley and his team found charismatic — if sometimes problematic — head coaches, passionate academic advisors, and promising athletes with the hopes of making it to the pros, even if all the odds were stacked against them. You’ll cheer when they earn a scholarship to a major school, but you’ll also be heartbroken when, for whatever reason, they fumble their last chance. Following the end of Last Chance U, the spin-off Last Chance U: Basketball premiered in 2021, with a second season arriving the following year.

The Last Dance

Early in the pandemic, there were no new sporting events to watch, but the 10-part docuseries about Michael Jordan and the ’90s Chicago Bulls became as big an event as a playoff game or Monday Night Football would have been. The Emmy-winning project featured previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage from the Bulls’ 1997–98 season, Jordan’s last year on the team, the one in which they’d win a sixth NBA title in eight years. Among those interviewed were Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, and Barack Obama, who was credited solely as “former Chicago resident.” But The Last Dance belongs to Jordan. Told primarily through his lens, Jordan doesn’t mince words. 

Naomi Osaka

From Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Garrett Bradley and executive producer LeBron James, this three-episode series chronicles two years in the life of another charismatic champion: trailblazing Japanese tennis star Naomi Osaka. Filmed from 2019 to 2021, the project follows Osaka as her popularity was exploding following her memorable victory over Serena Williams at the 2018 US Open — and her subsequent emergence as the sport’s next household name. But as fame comes, so does the weight of international attention and expectations. The film shows Osaka dealing with her own mental health, grappling with how to use her voice in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, and the resulting reckoning in the US and worldwide.

Open Heart

Directed by 30 for 30 veteran Jonathan Hock, Open Heart features former New York Ranger Henrik Lundqvist, one of the most distinguished goalies in NHL history, opening up like never before. The film looks at his illustrious career, which was suddenly interrupted by a debilitating heart condition and ensuing heart surgery. After living and breathing the sport he loved for his entire life, Open Heart finds Lundqvist trying to figure out “Without hockey, what am I?”

Quarterback

Being a professional quarterback is arguably the toughest job in football — maybe in any sport, period. Quarterback, the eight-episode docuseries from NFL Films, 2PM Productions, and Omaha Productions, follows three of the biggest quarterbacks in the game throughout the 2022 season, giving an unprecedented look at what it takes for the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins (who’s since joined the Atlanta Falcons), and the Atlanta Falcons’ Marcus Mariota (now of the Washington Commanders) to succeed when all eyes are on them.

Receiver

If you loved Quarterback, then you’re going to want to catch Receiver. Hailing from the same creative team as its predecessor, this eight-episode docuseries moves from following the signal-callers (who, let’s admit, already get enough glory) to the guys on the receiving end of their passes. No offense to Quarterback stars Patrick Mahomes, Marcus Mariota, and Kirk Cousins, but receivers are famously more animated, flashy, and swagger-filled than any other position on the field. So there’s plenty of entertainment in watching the Las Vegas Raiders’ Davante Adams, Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Detroit Lions’ Amon-Ra St. Brown, and San Francisco 49ers’ Deebo Samuel and George Kittle. 

The Redeem Team

Less than two decades after Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson’s Dream Team revolutionized basketball on an international stage and returned the United States to global dominance, the rest of the world was catching up. With gold medals now the only acceptable outcome, bronze finishes at the 2004 Olympics and 2006 World Championships might as well have been last-place results. Enter The Redeem Team. Executive produced by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, the documentary pulls back the curtain on the team’s journey to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It offers never-before-seen footage and interviews with basketball legends and Redeem Team stars James, Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and the late Kobe Bryant, who was brought in as captain to provide essential tough-love leadership.

Simone Biles Rising

You won’t want to miss this intimate documentary about Simone Biles’ journey to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The four-episode series goes behind the scenes as Biles — who withdrew from events at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo amid struggles with her mental health — returns to gymnastics and prepares to resume her position at the top of the sport. 

SPRINT

Don’t waste a single second hitting play on this docuseries about the world’s fastest athletes. SPRINT, from the team behind Drive to Survive, hits the track with elite-level runners, following their journey from the 2023 World Championships to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Athletes Sha’Carri Richardson, Noah Lyles, and Shericka Jackson are featured, as well as other competitors from the US, Jamaica, the UK, Ivory Coast, Kenya, and Italy. It’s worth watching too for stories from the sprinters’ families — and fresh insight from track and field legends Michael Johnson and Usain Bolt.

Tour de France: Unchained

This eight-episode series chronicles the 2022 installment of the iconic Tour de France, featuring the ups and downs of eight of the teams and their cyclists over the grueling three-week tour. 

Under Pressure: The U.S. Women's World Cup Team

In sports like basketball, football, or baseball, each year you have a new season to turn the page to, no matter the result of the previous outing. But, with soccer, it’s all building to a few-week span every four years. Under Pressure lives up to its title while documenting the U.S. women’s national team as they pursue their third consecutive title at the 2023 FIFA World Cup. Featuring a new coach, more than a dozen untested international players, and returning superstars, the squad struggles through adversity and expectations, hoping to ultimately overcome the pressure. 

Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child

Netflix’s Untold series of sports documentary films has chronicled some of the wildest stories from the last two decades, from the epic Detroit Pistons–Indiana Pacers brawl to the shocking turn in the story of Manti Te’o and his dead girlfriend. One of the buzziest recent entries is Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child, which tracks Paul’s unlikely transition from controversial internet personality to polarizing sports figure and rising boxing star. If you’re ready for another round with Paul after watching him enter the ring with Mike Tyson, this doc pulls no punches.

Wrestlers

After exploring the worlds of cheerleading (Cheer), football (Last Chance U), and basketball (Last Chance U: Basketball), Greg Whiteley jumped into the ring for Wrestlers. The seven-episode docuseries is an intimate and emotional look behind the scenes of the less glamorous circumstances surrounding wrestling companies that aren’t the all-powerful WWE. Wrestlers highlights legendary wrestler Al Snow as he battles to keep Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) alive through financial hardships and competing interests. This is one that will have you pinned down to your couch.

30 for 30: The Good, The Bad, The Hungry

Are you hungry for some beef? Among the 30 for 30 documentaries from ESPN that are currently streaming on Netflix is The Good, the Bad, the Hungry, an examination of one of the meatiest rivalries in all of sports: competitive eaters Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi. The duo have dominated the two-plus decades of the iconic Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog-Eating Contest. But it’s been many years since the two greatest and most famous eaters in the world have faced off. Now that they’ve gone dog-to-dog in the live event Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef, there’s no better time to eat up The Good, the Bad, the Hungry.

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