•
Al Pacino as Tony D'Amato,
head coach of the Miami Sharks. Having held his position for decades and been given much autonomy by the team's owner, "Tony D" is respected for great successes, including two Pantheon Cups, the championship for this (fictional) professional football league. He devoted so much time to the team that he became estranged from his wife and children. Tony's traditional methods have come under fire from management and the media for recent failures, including missing the playoffs. Bitter that he was never promoted to general manager, Tony resents the hands-on "interference" of Christina Pagniacci, who succeeded her late father Artie as team owner. His last name comes from boxing trainer
Constantine "Cus" D'Amato. •
Cameron Diaz as Christina Pagniacci, owner and
general manager. She inherited the team from her father and boasts a
Cornell MBA. She attributes the team's disappointments to Coach D'Amato's "old-school methods" and takes a more hands-on approach, bringing in innovative new
offensive coordinator Nick Crozier as his eventual successor. She hints that Tony will not return after his contract expires, adding to his distractions. She also threatens to move the franchise if the city refuses to build a new stadium, causing a confrontation with the AFFA Commissioner and the
Mayor of Miami. •
Dennis Quaid as Jack "Cap" Rooney, starting
quarterback and team captain. Seen as being like a son to Coach D'Amato, the two have been credited with the team's greatest on-field successes. Cap is now an aging veteran who faces injuries and conflicts with team personnel. Owner Pagniacci wants to dump him. Relations have soured between Cap and wife Cindy (
Lauren Holly), the latter of whom goads him without sympathy for his physical or mental situation, mercilessly browbeating him when he mentions retiring. Cap is injured during a game and is replaced, but is determined to make a comeback. Cap recovers for the first round of the playoffs, wherein he plays well until suffering a hard hit while scoring a touchdown before halftime. •
James Woods as Dr. Harvey Mandrake, the unscrupulous team physician. He risks serious injury to players for the team to have a better shot at winning, often at the direction of Christina. He is fired by Tony after his unethical methods are discovered by the conscientious team
internist. •
Jamie Foxx as Willie "Steamin" Beamen, the third-string
quarterback, out of the
University of Houston. Willie has a history that has led him to distrust his coaches. In particular, while playing for San Diego, Willie was turned into a defensive secondary player for having "fast feet", and was eventually injured while making a tackle. He initially believes that racism played a major role in his history of being denied opportunities, using an alternative of "placeism" to describe a lack of African-American quarterbacks and head coaches in pro-football. Willie becomes the starter after injuries to Cap and the backup quarterback. Although surprisingly successful, Willie causes tension among staff and teammates. He frequently either changes the plays that the coach calls or calls his own. These acts create major tension with Tony. The coach respects Willie's athletic ability and acknowledges that his talents warrant him to be a quarterback, but heavily criticizes his lack of leadership skills and intangibles. He is granted his own music video, and asks owner Pagniacci for a date when she enters a postgame locker-room full of naked or partly-dressed players like himself. Willie's antics on and off the field eventually get him demoted to the bench by Tony, who firmly believes that a quarterback's most important role is to lead the team and help keep them confident, both for which Beamen took a clear disregard. Willie eventually matures and is inspired by Cap's gutsy performance in the Sharks' first playoff game. •
LL Cool J as Julian "J-Man" Washington, starting
running back. He is very good but becomes increasingly angry at Willie for his cockiness and tendencies to take plays away from him. He is motivated by incentive clauses in his contract, and Tony refers to him as a "merc" (mercenary) "who will be gone before next season". Julian redeems himself to the team by running out of bounds to stop the
play clock while his team was attempting an offensive drive with little time remaining. •
Ann-Margret as Margaret Pagniacci, Christina's mother and the widow of the Sharks' original owner Artie. •
Lauren Holly as Cindy Rooney, wife of Jack "Cap" Rooney. It is heavily implied that she is no more than a
trophy wife, caring more for her wealth and social status than for her husband's health and well-being. •
Lawrence Taylor as Luther "Shark" Lavay, starting
middle linebacker and the captain of the defense. He has a cortisone addiction and is nearing the twilight of a very successful career, but he is held in high esteem by Tony for "revolutionizing" his position by being highly skilled in both pass rushing and defending against the run. Mandrake has concealed that "Shark" is suffering from a previous injury, a broken neck that did not heal properly. If he suffers another serious hit, he may be permanently disabled, suffer from
seizures, or killed. The team's internist informs him and D'Amato of the situation, but "Shark" says that he will lose a one-million-dollar bonus if he does not make his incentive stats (one sack and three tackles) or retire, as Powers suggests. He also has a confrontation with Beamen about the role of offense versus defense (which culminates with him cutting Beamen's
Chevrolet Suburban in half with a circular saw during a party). While making a hit, Shark is knocked unconscious. He awakens and is hauled away on a stretcher, satisfied that he made his one-million-dollar bonus. •
Jim Brown as Monte "Montezuma" Monroe,
defensive coordinator. He is vocal and brings intensity to the defense and to the team in general. A longtime friend of D'Amato, who personally confides in Montezuma several times. Monroe states at one point that he would like to return to high school coaching where the game is "pure". •
Aaron Eckhart as Nick Crozier,
offensive coordinator. Nick is an offensive guru brought in from Minnesota by Christina Pagniacci. Young and tech-savvy (making use of a laptop computer while calling plays), he is highly critical of Tony's old-fashioned ways, as well as Beamen's changing the plays in the huddle and Julian's playing for contract incentives. Despite the tension, D'Amato recognizes Crozier's talent. He is named D'Amato's successor after the coach departs to lead an expansion franchise in
New Mexico. •
Bill Bellamy as Jimmy Sanderson, the wide receiver who becomes Willie Beamen's first option on offense once he is moved into the starting Quarterback position, adding to the friction that is already building up between Willie and Julian. •
Matthew Modine as Dr. Ollie Powers, the team's internist. He discovers that Dr. Mandrake is covering for players who are suffering from near-career-ending injuries, but are overdosing on painkillers, steroids and hormones to cover the pain. Powers faces his own dilemma needing to relieve the players' pain versus prescribing too much medication at the insistence of the addicted players. •
John C. McGinley as Jack Rose, an abrasive and prominent sports reporter. On his
cable show, Rose displays an incredible distaste for all things D'Amato. This leads to D'Amato physically assaulting Rose near the end of the regular season, but no charges are pressed after D'Amato makes a public apology. In spite of their rivalry (or even because of it), Rose confesses that he will miss D'Amato when he retires. •
Lela Rochon as Vanessa Struthers, longtime girlfriend of Willie Beamen who unsuccessfully tries to pressure him into marriage after being humiliated by Cindy Rooney in front of the other football wives. •
Elizabeth Berkley as Mandy Murphy, a high-priced escort who provides Tony with a
girlfriend experience when he is feeling lonely. •
Clifton Davis as Mayor Tyrone Smalls, who is always a few steps ahead of Christina in her efforts to leverage him into using taxpayer money to build a new stadium for the Sharks. •
Andrew Bryniarski as Patrick "Madman" Kelly, a starting
offensive tackle with violent tendencies, who at one point threatens a jeering fan. •
Charlton Heston as AFFA football commissioner. •
James Karen and
Gianni Russo as Christina's advisors. •
Duane Martin as Willie's agent. •
Pat O'Hara as Tyler Cherubini, a
journeyman quarterback who was initially second-string quarterback after "Cap" Rooney is injured, before being injured himself, leading to Willie Beamen's first game as quarterback. •
Mazio Royster as wide receiver. •
Rick Johnson as Dallas quarterback. •
Allan Graf as referee. •
Margaret Betts as mayor's aide. •
Lester Speight as Sharks' security guard. •
Eva Tamargo as Tunnel reporter, game 3. •
Delia Sheppard and
Jaime Bergman as party girls. •
Dan Sileo as Dallas defensive tackle. •
Sean Stone as fan (as Sean C. Stone). •
Antoni Corone as fan ;Cameos •
Dick Butkus •
Terrell Owens •
Ricky Watters •
Irving Fryar •
Joe Schmidt •
Oliver Stone •
Barry Switzer •
Y. A. Tittle •
Warren Moon •
Johnny Unitas •
Pat Toomay •
Emmitt Smith •
Wilt Chamberlain (uncredited) ==Production==