Is Netflix's Home Team Based On A True Story?

"Home Team" is based on Sean Payton's life during and in the wake of the "Bountygate" scandal. The movie starts off on a very serious note by addressing "Bountygate" through archival footage of news reports on the scandal and a dramatized depiction of New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton being suspended. In reality, Payton was suspended for a year by the NFL after the league found the Saints' had a "pay for performance" program from 2009 to 2011 (via NFL.com). The program, which is a violation of NFL rules, incentivized players to injure opponents by making "knock-out" hits and "cart-off" hits — plays that ultimately paid them earnings above what they were receiving in their contracts.

Apart from the ominous phone call from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the dramatic opener, "Home Team" is largely a family-friendly comedy, starring Kevin James as Payton. In real life, the coach moved to the Dallas area during his suspension to spend more time with his children, Meghan and Connor. As it turns out, Payton still coached football, but just on a more basic level as the offensive coordinator of his son Connor's 6th-grade football team, the Liberty Christian Warriors. 

With kid players involved, "Home Team" has more of a cleaned-up "Bad News Bears" vibe. One key difference between real life and what we see on screen: The Warriors weren't nearly as bad as the film implies. As Payton told the New Orleans Times-Picayune in 2012, the truth is that the team won its first game with him as offensive coordinator 30-0. As for some of the more comedic moments in "Home Team," a mega-vomit scene that rivals the queasy but classic "barf-o-rama" sequence in "Stand By Me" did not happen in real life, according to History vs. Hollywood. Even though it was made up for the film, it is a good gag, so to speak.