MGM+ Original Docuseries "NFL Icons" Season Four Premieres January 17

The acclaimed four-part docuseries presents an all-new season in 2025 that will feature Pro Football Hall of Famers Kurt Warner, Joe Montana, DeMarcus Ware and Gale Sayers

"No one has ever gone from aisle 7 (of the grocery store) to the NFL" -Kurt Warner

LOS ANGELES - Dec. 9, 2024 - Premium linear channel and streaming service MGM+ announced that Season Four of NFL Icons will premiere on January 17 at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT with a four-week run. NFL Icons celebrates some of the greatest names and contributors in NFL history, featuring their own words and unrivaled archival footage from NFL Films. Each hour-long episode focuses on a single subject, whose career comes to life through a deep dive into the NFL Films archives, and the opportunity to reflect on their landmark contributions.

Launching during the high intensity of the NFL playoffs and concluding two nights before Super Bowl LVIX in New Orleans, Season Four will spotlight Pro Football Hall of Famers Kurt Warner, DeMarcus Ware, Joe Montana and Gale Sayers. Warner, Ware and Montana combined to play in eight Super Bowls and collect six Super Bowl championship rings, and the 2025 series will include in-depth stories on their post-season history, legacy defining moments and heart-breaking defeats. Sayers playing career ended prematurely in 1971 due to debilitating injuries but his impact on the game has endured for generations.

Each episode of NFL Icons provides an in-depth and personal exploration of some of the biggest names in football history, showcasing not only their remarkable athleticism, but also the significant impact these icons had on the game and their communities. The docuseries, narrated by award-winning broadcaster Rich Eisen, will tell each legendary figure's story through a combination of interviews, highlights, mic'd-up sound, and never-before-seen footage. Executive producers of NFL Icons are Ross Ketover, Brian Rolapp, Keith Cossrow, Ken Rodgers, Michael Wright, Jill Burkhart and Jessica Boddy. Paul Camarata is the series producer.

"The remarkable football players featured in NFL Icons are the embodiment of what makes the NFL so captivating to its fans" said Michael Wright, head of MGM+. "The new season, from the incredible storytellers at NFL Films and our brilliant narrator Rich Eisen, will continue to entertain and inspire audiences, both diehard football fans and the subscriber who enjoys premium storytelling."

Episode 401 - "NFL Icons: Kurt Warner" - premieres January 17 at 10 p.m. EDT/PDT. The storybook journey of quarterback Kurt Warner, from his humble beginnings in Iowa to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio is examined. Ignored by every major college football program. Undrafted by the NFL. Cut after a tryout in Green Bay, Warner stocked shelves in an Iowa grocery store as he chased his football dream in the Arena League and NFL Europe. His breakthrough season in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams in 1999 produced a Super Bowl championship and league MVP award. Known for his devotion to his family and faith, Warner would play in a second Super Bowl for St. Louis and make it to a third Super Bowl with Arizona.

Episode 402 - "NFL Icons: DeMarcus Ware" - premieres Jan. 24. An all-time great pass rusher, DeMarcus Ware's compelling journey includes second chances and determination to get through adversity and into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The story began in a small Alabama town and included playing at Troy University before star turns in the NFL with the Dallas Cowboys and the Denver Broncos. Ware was a devoted student of the game and an inspiring leader. Rising up from life-altering setbacks he persevered and earned a Super Bowl championship with Denver at the end of the 2015 season.

Episode 403 - "NFL Icons: Joe Montana" - premieres Jan. 31. Known as "Joe Cool" and considered by some to be the greatest to ever play the quarterback position, Joe Montana takes viewers through the high-pressure moments that built his legend. Starting with his college career at Notre Dame and winding through San Francisco where he propelled the 49ers to four Super Bowl championships, Montana is one of the NFL's all-time greatest post-season performers and a central figure of one of the league's most accomplished dynasties.

Episode 404 - "NFL Icons: Gale Sayers" - premieres Feb. 7. The epic life of an American football legend is explored. Nicknamed "The Kansas Comet," Gale Sayers in a very short window produced a dynamic and unforgettable NFL career. The youngest person ever to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Sayers' bittersweet 68-game Chicago Bears career is chronicled with rare photos and footage. The episode also touches on the iconic TV movie "Brian's Song" that told the extraordinary friendship of two running backs who became inseparable on and off the field until tragedy struck.

About NFL Films

NFL Films is widely recognized as the most honored filmmaker in Sports and continues to produce innovative franchises and documentaries across multiple networks and platforms, including Quarterback and Receiver on Netflix, Hard Knocks on HBO/Max, Peyton's Places on ESPN+, eight 30 for 30 films on ESPN, and recent premium programming across Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, MGM+, Fox, NBC, CBS, NFL Network, NFL+ and The Roku Channel. In 2023 alone, NFL Films productions earned seven #1 rankings on five different platforms. Bullies of Baltimore was the #1 ranked 30 for 30 film premiere in the history of the ESPN+ platform, Quarterback was the #1 series on Netflix for 8 days and Top 10 in 16 countries, The Pick is In was the #1 ranking Roku Original documentary premiere of all time, Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the New York Jets was the #1 unscripted series for six straight weeks on Max, and Kelce became the #1 movie or series on Amazon Prime Video, only to be surpassed by Bye Bye Barry just two months later as the platform's #1 documentary of all time in the U.S.. Completing the extraordinary year, Hard Knocks: In Season with the Miami Dolphins became the #1 series on Max in the final week of 2023. Receiver on Netflix and Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Chicago Bears on Max also reached #1 on their respective platforms in 2024, and in its debut season, Hard Knocks: Offseason with the New York Giants spent several weeks at #2 on Max behind only House of the Dragon. With 138 Sports Emmy Awards to its credit, NFL Films remains a gold standard in premium sports content, providing an elevated and connected viewer experience with privileged access to the athlete story.  

About Rich Eisen

One of television's most visible anchors and personalities, Rich Eisen was a mainstay on ESPN's SportsCenter from 1996-2003 before becoming the first on-air talent added at the NFL Network in June 2003, five months before the network's launch that November.   

In 2014, Eisen created The Rich Eisen Show. Now in its eleventh year, both Eisen and the show have received multiple Emmy nominations for Outstanding Personality/Studio Host and Outstanding Studio Show-Daily.  Airing from noon-3PM ET on Roku TV and simulcast on Westwood One, The Rich Eisen Show originates out of Los Angeles, CA and features an engaging mix of sports, humor, and pop culture, while attracting the most recognizable names in sports and entertainment including Tom Brady, Matt Damon, Jerry Seinfeld, Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, Regina King, Aaron Rodgers, Larry David, Morgan Freeman and more.      

He continues to be a centerpiece at the NFL Network, where he celebrated his 20-year anniversary at the network in 2023. As with The Rich Eisen Show, his work at the NFL Network has garnered four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Studio Host and can be seen Sunday mornings throughout the NFL season hosting the network's Emmy-nominated NFL GameDay Morning. As the signature host of the NFL Network, Eisen also serves as the emcee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Canton, Ohio, and anchors the network's special, on location coverage of the NFL Draft, NFL Scouting Combine and Super Bowl. 

About MGM+   

MGM+, an Amazon company, is a premium linear channel and streaming service delivering a broad lineup of exclusive original series and docuseries, current movie releases, and classic film franchises - all available in the U.S. on TV, on-demand, online, and across devices. MGM+ is a destination for premium content, with original series including sci-fi horror series FROM, Emmy-winning Godfather of Harlem, the Western adventure Billy the Kid, and upcoming sci-fi drama Earth Abides and horror thriller The Institute, along with cinematic dramatic series Rogue Heroes, Belgravia and War of the Worlds. The network is also the home of acclaimed docuseries, including the critically acclaimed In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, Emmy-nominated Laurel Canyon, My Life as a Rolling Stone, NFL Icons, Hollywood Black and The Wonderland Massacre & The Secret History of Hollywood. Premium movies are also available, including Challengers, IF, Mission Impossible - Dead Reckoning, The Beekeeper, American Fiction and Mean Girls. 

MGM+ is available nationwide through cable, telco, satellite, digital distribution channels and the MGM+ app. For more information about the current MGM+ lineup, go to www.mgmplus.com or follow us on X,  Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube.