Kevin James Tackles Youth Football in Netflix's 'Home Team' Trailer
Kevin James is taking on youth football in his new movie Home Team. The trailer for the Netflix film is released on Tuesday and shows James as New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton. After the NFL suspends him in 2012, Payton decides to be an assistant coach for his son's youth football team. Along with James, Home Team stars Taylor Lautner, Adam Sandler's wife Jackie Sandler and Rob Schneider. Home Team will premiere via Netflix on Jan. 28.
"I knew instantly I wanted to be a part of Home Team," James told PEOPLE. "I didn't even need to read the script. I was of course familiar with Sean Payton and his story, but I didn't know he had gone home to coach his son's team. It's a great father-son story, which is what I really related to," he adds. "It's heartfelt and moving, but with a lot of comedic moments for parents and kids."
The film is based on what happened to Payton in 2012. He was suspended for the entire season after the NFL discovered the Saint's bounty program that rewarded players for attempting to knock players out of games. The program lasted from 2009 to 2011 and Payton became the first head coach in modern NFL history to be suspended for any reason. Payton went on to be the offensive coordinator of his sone sixth-grade team in Argyle, Texas. When Payton returned to the NFL in 2013, the Saints made the playoffs with an 11-5 record.
"The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for 'performance,' but also for injuring opposing players," Commissioner Goodell said in his statement at the time, per NOLA.com. "The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.
"It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. We have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent. We have more work to do and we will do it." Payton is one of the more successful coaches in the NFL today as he has won 149 regular-season games, nine playoff games and a Super Bowl in 2009. He was also named AP Coach of the Year in his first season with the Saints in 2006.