The BEST Episodes of A Football Life
Every episode ever - ranked by fan votes!
Last Updated: Sep 9, 2020
Network: NFL Network
A Football Life is a documentary series developed by NFL Films and aired on NFL Network that documents the lives of select National Football League players, coaches, owners, and teams. Friends, teammates, family members and other players and coaches associated with the subjects are interviewed.
#1 - Dexter Manley
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired Sep 25, 2015
The rise, fall, and redemption of one of the most dominant and beloved players in Washington history, the Secretary of Defense who was functionally illiterate and became addicted to drugs.
10.00 #2 - Alan Page
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 16, 2015
One of the most impressive careers in pro football history was just the beginning for the great Alan Page.
10.00 #3 - Steve Largent
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired Oct 23, 2015
Before the Seahawks ever reached the Super Bowl, the greatest player in team history paved the way in Seattle.
10.00 #4 - Mike Singletary
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 13, 2015
The heart and soul of the legendary 1985 Chicago Bears defense, Mike Singletary shares a life full of lessons learned from the game.
10.00 #5 - Bruce Arians
Season 5 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 11, 2015
The extraordinary story of the lifelong assistant turned overnight success who has led the Arizona Cardinals back into contention.
10.00 #6 - Marshall Faulk
Season 5 - Episode 12 - Aired Dec 18, 2015
One of most exciting and dynamic players in NFL history, Marshall Faulk rose from the streets of New Orleans to launch the Greatest Show on Turf.
10.00 
#7 - Curtis Martin
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired Sep 16, 2016
The inspiring story of Curtis Martin, who rose from the streets of Pittsburgh to become a Hall of Fame running back.
10.00 #8 - Joe Gibbs
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired Nov 24, 2017
Hall of Fame Head Coach Joe Gibbs tries to balance his personal and professional life while building the NFL’s most diverse dynasty.
10.00 #9 - Lynn Swann & John Stallworth
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired Dec 22, 2017
Two different personalities, two separate paths, one shared drive for greatness: the rivalry, friendship and artistry of Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.
10.00 #10 - Brian Dawkins
Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 12, 2018
He was known as Weapon X on the field, but he was a gentle family man off it. A Football Life: Brian Dawkins looks at the two sides of Dawkins, from the beginnings of his superstar career, through his battles with depression, all the way to the Hall of Fame.
10.00 
#11 - Bill Walsh
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired Jan 23, 2015
Bill Walsh was knows as a genius but was also an insecure, tortured artist. After revolutionizing the NFL with the ``Team of the 80s,'' he wrote a book that has become the bible for generations of football coaches.
9.50 #12 - Jerome Bettis
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired Oct 2, 2015
From Detroit to Notre Dame, LA to Pittsburgh and finally to Canton, a grand tour on the only Bus to stop at the pro football Hall of Fame.
9.50 
#13 - Walter Payton
Season 1 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 13, 2011
A Football Life takes an in-depth look at the life of NFL running back great, Walter Payton, using unique on and off-the-field sights, sounds and stories.
9.40 
#14 - Joe Namath Part 2
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired Jan 30, 2015
Part 2 of the extraordinary life of Joe Namath, from the high of the Super Bowl III to the lows of a life lived too hard, and back to the place he was born in Western PA.
9.00 
#15 - Rodney Harrison
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired Sep 23, 2016
One of football’s greatest safeties and one of its most controversial players remains a vital and passionate voice of the game.
9.00 #16 - Dwight Clark
Season 8 - Episode 6 - Aired Nov 2, 2018
The story of the former 49ers wide receiver who thought he wouldn't make the team, but went on to make "The Catch," arguably the single greatest reception in NFL history. The play propelled San Francisco to a decade of dominance in the 1980s that saw the team win four Super Bowl titles. Stricken with ALS in his later years, Clark died on June 4, 2018.
9.00 #17 - Thurman Thomas
Season 8 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 14, 2018
The Thurmanator led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage four straight seasons and scored a touchdown in four straight Super Bowls. Yet throughout his life, his best trait was being able to take his biggest disappointments and turn them into motivation for his greatest triumphs.
9.00 
#18 - Brandon Marshall
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired Sep 19, 2014
The inspiring story of Brandon Marshall, who has become the national face of borderline personality disorder and one of the NFL's best wide receivers.
8.95 
#19 - Steve Sabol
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired Oct 1, 2013
A profile of former NFL Films president and co-founder Steve Sabol.
8.94 
#20 - Jim Brown
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired Nov 10, 2016
The football life of perhaps the greatest player in NFL history and his impact both on and off the field.
8.80 
#21 - Mike Ditka
Season 1 - Episode 7 - Aired Oct 27, 2011
A Football Life takes an in-depth look at the life of NFL coach ,Mike Ditka, using unique on and off-the-field sights, sounds and stories.
8.79 
#22 - Barry Sanders
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired Dec 5, 2012
A Football Life examines Barry Sanders' incredible Hall of Fame career, his unexpected retirement and the reaction it garnered throughout both the NFL and the city of Detroit, and his relationship with his late father, William.
8.55 
#23 - Chris Spielman
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired Oct 31, 2012
The inspiring story of former linebacker Chris Spielman and the strength of his family.
8.50 
#24 - Joe Namath Part 1
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired Jan 30, 2015
Part 1 of the extraordinary life of Joe Namath. From his childhood in Beaver Falls, PA to Tuscaloosa and Bear Bryant to the bright lights of Broadway, how Namath became football's star of stars.
8.50 
#25 - Chad Johnson
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired Sep 30, 2016
The unpredictable life of the endzone dancing, trash talking, name-changing receiver who was "always open".
8.50