Some of the filming of the football scenes took place during halftime of the 1987 LSU-Alabama game. The producers wanted to continue shooting some scenes following the game, so they requested that the LSU fans remain after the game so that they could finish the scenes. However, Alabama won in an upset, and ten minutes after the game, the only fans still in the bleachers were wearing crimson, forcing the producers to finish shooting the following week.
John Goodman did actually play college football, at Southwest Missouri State. An injury ended the possibility of a football career, causing him to pursue a drama major instead.
Filming was stopped for weeks when Dennis Quaid had his collarbone broken by Tim Fox of the New England Patriots during filming. Footage of Quaid rolling in pain on the sidelines of the snow game appears in the finished film.
A key scene featuring a candlelight parade involving large numbers of extras was filmed when snow started falling. Despite the beauty of the scene, director Taylor Hackford elected to reshoot the scene, as snow in Baton Rouge in November was such a rare event that he was worried it would be seen as a special effects goof in the film.
In an interview with NBC 5 reporter Bobbie Wygant in 1989 promoting "Music Box" Jessica Lange stated the following on "Everybody's All-American":
"...wasting my precious time on a film that has absolutely nothing to do with what I did or what it was meant to be. It's kind of some little dim and faded story of what it could have been."
Bobbie Wygant: Would you work for Taylor Hackford again?
"Never in a million years for all the money in China or all the tea in China, all the money in the world I never would."
Bobbie Wygant: Did you feel betrayed?
"Sure you do because what's happened is you devote so much of yourself and you give so much time and energy to a situation and it really is like a slap in the face. Because obviously there's not the respect to be able to take someone's work and just kind of throw it out the window. But then I you know it wasn't personally he threw the whole film out the window. (laughter)"