The NFL鈥檚 dedication to expanding flag football starts at the top.
Commissioner Roger Goodell has been fully invested in growing the non-contact version of the most popular sport in the United States. Flag football introduces more people, including folks around the world, to the NFL so it鈥檚 a wise for a league that wants to become a global powerhouse.
鈥淲e always thought it was important,鈥 Goodell told The Associated Press about making flag football a priority. 鈥淏ut I think we really feel, at this time, there is strong momentum, strong need, particularly for women, to be able to participate in a sport that they hadn鈥檛 had the opportunity to do. This was a chance for us to do it internationally on a global basis, with young women and young boys, and really build it across different levels, from youth to high school to college and maybe someday a professional league.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a long haul, but it鈥檚 certainly worth it and we鈥檙e seeing that momentum build, particularly with the Olympics coming up.鈥
The league says 20 million people in 100 different countries are playing flag football. It鈥檚 the fastest-growing sport globally and will debut in the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The NFL led the charge to make it happen and that was just the start.
The league announced Tuesday that Toyota will become the presenting partner of NFL Flag tournaments across the country. Goodell spent two days last week in Aspen meeting with the Toyota executive team about sponsorship and he plans to attend the NFL Flag Championships next month at the Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio. The event will feature more than 280 teams of girls and boys representing NFL Flag regional winners from across the United States plus six teams from countries around the world.
鈥淭oyota understands the vision,鈥 Goodell said. 鈥淚鈥檝e always said great partnerships are built on having an alignment and I really feel strongly after spending time with them, from corporate on to the dealers, being able to see it鈥檒l be actually executed in their communities. Their enthusiasm for it was overwhelming, but also gave me great confidence that we have the right partner to really take this partnership to a new level and, obviously, flag football to a new level.鈥
Beyond and young athletes in countries who aren鈥檛 exposed to tackle football and being a safer option for parents concerned about head injuries, flag has opened doors for players in the United States who can鈥檛 afford equipment.
Five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. was one of those kids growing up in Los Angeles. He switched to flag football because playing Pop Warner was a financial burden and he didn鈥檛 play tackle again until high school. Smith ended up becoming a two-time All-Pro who played 16 seasons with the Carolina Panthers and Baltimore Ravens.
鈥淔lag has always been a part of football that I think is a little bit underrated,鈥 Smith said. 鈥淚 look at flag really to help introduce the fundamentals of football to kids because you don鈥檛 have to worry about getting hit so they get to really focus on playing tight end, quarterback, catching a football. Not every kid that wants to play football initially in their first couple of seasons are excited about getting hit so I think flag gives an opportunity to really focus on the fundamentals, focus on how football is really implemented.鈥
Goodell gets excited hearing stories from international players who become involved in the NFL through flag football. He mentioned the unique journey of Phoebe Schecter, who fell in love with football in Britain, became an assistant coach with the Buffalo Bills and now is captain of the British women鈥檚 national team, an NFL analyst and is a global flag ambassador for the league.
鈥淚t鈥檚 changed her life, and to hear those stories about how it鈥檚 given somebody who really had no connection to the game an opportunity to play and understand it, and wants to give back, it was even more encouraging for us,鈥 Goodell said.
Whenever the NFL makes a rule change to improve player safety such as banning the hip-drop tackle, many old-school fans and some players complain the league is going soft and will eventually turn into flag football like the Pro Bowl.
鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 concern me at all,鈥 Goodell said about the criticism. 鈥淟isten, you know the difference. You see it. You know what it鈥檚 like to be on a tackle football field and the difference in the speed, the contact. It鈥檚 a very demanding sport, but our job is to eliminate techniques that we think are causing injuries and those injuries are quite serious. They鈥檙e not only season-ending but career-ending. ...
鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to demonstrate over the last 15 years that we鈥檝e made our sport safer, more competitive and more exciting at the same time. And, more people are enjoying the game.鈥
So what鈥檚 the ceiling for flag football? Could it become a professional sport in the future?
鈥淲hen young athletes see a path to progress through the sport, obviously starting at the youth level and then to high school to playing in college, I think that鈥檚 when you鈥檒l see the opportunity for professional leagues to evolve,鈥 Goodell said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 exciting so I do believe that will happen, seeing what鈥檚 taking place at what I call the amateur level.鈥
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