There have also been major strides taken in expanding the sport at the professional level.
The NFL in March announced a partnership with TMRW Sports, notable investors and numerous athletes to launch a professional flag football league for men and women. Backers included football greats past and present, such as Joe Montana, Steve Young, Larry Fitzgerald, Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Bobby Wagner and Arik Armstead, but also legendary women from multiple sports: Serena Williams, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss and Alex Morgan.
The league will be key to flag football’s continued development, solidifying a pathway for players from the youth level into college and through to the pros.
Similarly important and likewise emblematic of flag football becoming more and more a global game is the IFAF World Championships. A record 31 teams participated in the most recent world championships. The 2026 event, which features the top 16 men’s and women’s national teams and serves as a ’28 Olympics qualifier, will take place in Düsseldorf, Germany on Aug. 13-16.
Excitement for flag football continues to reach and reestablish all-time highs in the lead-up to what will be the sport’s crowning achievement, an Olympic tournament in 2028.
The game will only continue to grow ahead of the event and surely benefit when the sport is showcased at the XXXIV Olympiad. Perhaps a few players currently rising through the established pipelines will even have the chance to go for gold alongside (or against) some of their favorite NFL athletes.
“Absolutely,” Goodell said when asked if he envisions current or past NFL players participating in the Olympics. “We approved it a year ago, and I’ve had a lot of players that have said, ‘We want to participate in that.’ It sets up really well because it’s before camps. It’ll be the first week of the Olympics [in 2028]. These players are competitors and they love the big stage. To win a gold medal or any medal is something I think they would all treasure. They talk about it all the time, so I absolutely believe we’re going to have players in the Olympics.”
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