Trillion Boys (2025)

-Written by Bryan Miller.

Trillion Boys, directed by A.J. Callens, follows a top-tier high school 7-7 team chasing NIL stardom. A breakout athlete, a disgraced coach, and two teenage owners collide while fighting for respect, redemption, and a place in the game.

This is less a documentary and more an infomercial. Its primary mission seems to be selling the Trillion Boys brand to viewers who, according to Trillion Boys, already know everything about it. Everyone, that is, except me. Before pressing play, I did not even realize 7-7 football existed. That does not delegitimize the sport so much as it exposes how completely unaware I am of this particular corner of modern athletics.

To the film’s credit, it does succeed in dropping the audience into the high-intensity world of 7-7 football and in showing how deeply it can affect those involved, for better and for worse.

So, does it work?

Meh. Not really.

I enjoyed several elements of the documentary enough that I wanted more of them, but Trillion Boys rarely delivers. A significant portion of the runtime is devoted to Josh and Jack Stupin, the founders of the Trillion Boys program. I understand the impulse. Their story establishes the brand. Plus, they produced the documentary along with their father, so it makes sense that they would be a large portion of this documentary. I just really wish they weren’t. Their story is far less compelling than the stories of the players and coaches. This is a film about opportunity, yet the founders would be largely unaffected if the program vanished tomorrow. The athletes and coaches, on the other hand, depend on it to move their careers forward.

Where the documentary shines is in introducing the world of 7-7 football while offering brief glimpses of how it can shape individual lives. Those personalized moments are easily the strongest, especially when Trillion Boys explores how the sport can open doors through NIL deals and exposure to college recruiters. Xavier “DJ” Jordan’s journey is inspiring, but it feels more like a trailer for a better story than the story itself. I wanted to see whether the program consistently creates opportunities for other athletes, and that broader perspective is mostly absent.

Trillion Boys also highlights members of the coaching staff, most notably Chris “C Hawk” Hawkins. This storyline has real weight. Hawkins, previously involved in a recruiting scandal during his time as defensive backs coach at Arizona State University, is far more intriguing than the brand he now represents. Unfortunately, the documentary barely scratches the surface of his narrative.

In the end, Trillion Boys achieves its most basic goal. It pulls viewers into the competitive world of 7-7 football. Does it make you care deeply about the sport? Not particularly. Does it make you care about the players and coaches? A little, but not enough. The film dangles compelling stories in front of the audience, then declines to follow through.

Directed by A.J. Callens. 

Starring Xavier Jordan, Josh Stupin, Jack Stupin, Christ Hawkins, etc. 

6/10 = WATCH IT FOR FREE