All articles tagged with #flag football
Girls flag football is the fastest-growing high school sport, with more than 102,000 players in 2025-26—a 551% jump in four years—and now sanctioned in 23 states plus Washington, D.C., backed by NFL investment; the sport is expanding to the 2028 Olympics, with about 3,990 schools reporting participants in 2025-26.
The NFL has scrapped the Pro Bowl as a standalone game and will instead award Pro Bowl designations to 88 players, with an in-person roster celebration planned for February, a move reflecting years of player opt-outs and a flag-football format introduced to reduce injuries.
The NFL will discontinue the Pro Bowl Game and instead honor 88 Pro Bowl players in Los Angeles before the Super Bowl, citing player input and concerns that the game isn’t up to NFL standards. The move follows discussions about improving how players are honored and acknowledges the long-standing, non-contact flag-football format that began in 2023, which hadn’t boosted interest or participation.
Team USA's 14-year undefeated run in flag football ended with a 38-32 loss to American Samoa at the World Championships, led by Taulia Tagovailoa's five passing TDs. The USA streak dates back to 2012 and includes five straight World Championships, gold at the 2022 World Games, and 2023–2025 continental golds. The setback adds intrigue ahead of flag football's 2028 Olympic inclusion, where the U.S. remains the team to beat but faces new competition.
Commissioner Roger Goodell says he absolutely expects active and even retired NFL players to compete in Olympic flag football at the 2028 Games, after the league approved participation; USA Football will announce the selection process later this year, and the NFL’s support aims to grow flag football with potential pro leagues, while players weigh offseason commitments against Olympic training.
An NCAA committee recommended adding a National Collegiate Flag Football Championship for Division I, II and III with a possible debut by 2028, contingent on at least 40 schools sponsoring varsity programs and meeting competition and participation standards; USA Football says the move would grow the game and strengthen the talent pipeline ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Brendan Sorsby’s bid for an injunction amid NCAA gambling allegations could allow him to play and preserve his 2026 Texas Tech deal if granted; if denied, the NFL supplemental draft becomes likely. The piece also covers the NFL’s flag football expansion plan, its overseas growth, the new approach to bidding for major events (Super Bowl LXIV and the 2028 draft), EverPass, the Cincinnati Bengals’ OTAs, and a speculative football comparison to Victor Wembanyama.
The NFL announced a partnership with TMRW Sports to develop and operate a professional flag football league for women and men, supported by NFL clubs, institutional investors, and current and former NFL players and prominent sports figures. The league aims to capitalize on flag football’s global growth and its Olympic momentum ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games, with planning underway and up to $32 million approved by NFL clubs via 32 Equity to launch and run the venture.
The NFL teams with TMRW Sports to create a professional flag football league for men and women, backed by up to $32 million from NFL clubs, veteran and current players, and other investors, building a pathway from youth flag football to Olympic competition with a launch planned for the run-up to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner and 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, was named to Team USA's men's flag football roster—a 24-player group that will attend a training camp before 12 are selected to travel to the Flag Football World Championship in Düsseldorf this August, as flag football eyes a spot in the 2028 Olympics; Griffin hasn’t played in the NFL since 2020 and faces the challenge of mastering a sport quite different from tackle football.
The Fanatics Flag Football Classic, headlined by Tom Brady and featuring a host of NFL players and celebrities, moved from Riyadh to Los Angeles and drew a modest linear TV audience of about 650,000 on average (peaking at 909,000) with a 2.8 million reach, facing competition from NCAA tournaments. While social media and streaming clips reportedly generated over 300 million views across platforms, the game failed to translate hype into strong TV interest. Brady even suggested tweaking the rules to resemble tackle football to boost engagement.
Fox’s Fanatics Flag Football Classic drew about 650,000 average viewers (peaking at 909,000) after moving from Riyadh to Los Angeles, with a reported 300 million global social reach; the NFL hopes flag football expands internationally, though domestic engagement remains modest and there are discussions about tweaking rules to boost appeal.
Team USA trounced a roster of NFL stars in three flag football games at LA’s BMO Stadium as a lead-up to the 2028 Olympics, with Darrell Doucette MVP and each Team USA player earning $100,000. The NFL players struggled to adapt to IFAF rules and flag-pulling, discovering flag football is a different game from tackle football. While Brady suggested potential rule tweaks and future Olympic rosters were discussed, many pros acknowledged the learning curve and questioned how a flag-football Olympic path would fit with NFL commitments.
An opinion piece argues that for LA28 Team USA should be built around flag football specialists rather than NFL stars, noting that specialists outperform interlopers in recent exhibition games (Brady included). It questions why flag football is in the Olympics, suggests the NFL’s backing is branding-driven, and concludes the safest path is to trust the specialists to win gold.
USA Football is building a multi-track selection process for the 2028 Olympic flag football team in Los Angeles, combining active NFL players, top flag specialists, and talent-transfer athletes, with acclimation camps planned in 2027 and a selection framework expected to be approved by the USOPC in late 2026. The process will weigh how NFL participation is integrated, and whether roster spots will be allocated per NFL team or through broader tryouts and camps ahead of LA28.