MEMPHIS, Tenn. – The rise of Memphis 901 FC Sporting Director and minority owner Tim Howard from his first professional season in the USL to competing for the United States Men’s National Team and Manchester United is set to be turned into a feature film, with the Sports Business Journal’s Chris Smith reporting Amazon has acquired the rights to Howard’s story.

The film will be produced by Select Films and will cover Howard’s early career, which began in 1997 with the North Jersey Centaurs of the USISL D-3 Pro League – a precursor to USL League One – and saw him quickly rise the ranks to become one of the legendary figures in U.S. soccer history.

Select Films’ Mark Ciardi – whose production credits include “Miracle”, “The Rookie”, and “Secretariat” –  had originally hoped to make the film after seeing a feature on Howard aired by 60 Minutes in 2005, but the timing didn’t feel right, according to Howard.

“I don’t think that would have been a smart thing to do on my end. I had a lot of my career ahead of me,” Howard told Smith. “I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder, I wanted to work and get my feet under me.”

However, as Howard’s playing career began to wind down last year, Ciardi got back in contact with his team to see if there was any interest in the project. Now, Howard is looking forward to seeing his story be told.

“It’s a pretty cool story, if I do say so myself,” Howard told Smith. “We’re far enough removed from that moment that we can capture it in that best light.”