MARCH 31: The new flag leagues will launch in 2028 during the build-up to the Olympics, Mike Jones of The Athletic notes. A firm timeline is not yet in place, but an annual summer schedule roughly in line with that of existing flag leagues can be expected.
MARCH 30: Continuing the growth of flag football has long been a priority for the NFL. In October, commissioner Roger Goodell confirmed a professional league would be established in the relatively near future. 
Not long afterwards, funding was approved for creating a league, with the NFL’s 32 Equity investment arm being cleared to join with a to-be-determined partner. Nothing had been revealed since then until an announcement which was made on Monday. TMRW Sports has been selected as the NFL’s partner with respect to launching a flag league for men and women.
A long list of individual investors and equity groups are contributing to the new league, in addition to the $32MM maximum which will be provided by the NFL’s clubs themselves. Pro Football Hall of Famers Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Steve Young and Larry Fitzgerald are investing, with the same also being true of the likes of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. Active players Arik Armstead, Bobby Wagner and Russell Wilson are on the list of investors as well; so too are Billie Jean King, Serena Williams and others.
“As the flag football movement continues its explosive global growth, a professional flag league completes the pathway for elite athletes to compete at every level of the game, from youth to high school and college, to the Olympic stage, and now professionally,” a statement from NFL EVP Troy Vincent reads in part. “Selecting TMRW Sports represents an important step in our long-term commitment to growing flag football and supporting the world-class athletes driving its momentum.”
TMRW Sports played a leading role in the establishment of TGL, the primetime team golf league recently launched in partnership with the PGA. The group will now turn its attention to helping create a pro flag football league, a logical final step in the NFL’s long-running efforts to grow that version of the game. This news comes, of course, with the Los Angeles Olympics approaching.
The 2028 L.A. Games will mark the debut of flag football as an Olympic sport. Work is ongoing to ensure NFL players will be able to compete in the event, and the league will be heavily involved in creating a professional flag football environment along a similar timeline as well.
Honestly, would be genius, slightly different enough game that the skillset is different enough that you’re not just watching NFL rejects but rather ppl who may truly be the best flag football position player alive. Would be more inclined to watch than XFL/UFL, plus seems like youth leagues are almost exclusively FF now, so attracts new younger viewers
The theory that the wealthier a person becomes the dumber they become, may have merits after all. I’m certainly not a member of the wealth club but investing in flag football strikes me as an idea possibly worse than investing in a pregnancy test kit for men 🙂
I think the NFL sees this as more of an international thing in terms of potential fan-base growth.
That’s exactly what it is. It appears safer and friendlier, but it also is more of an “Everyman” sport that doesn’t rely as much on physical talent. And it appeals more to women.
I really don’t think that anything could have been more fortunate for Roger Goodell than seeing the pros lose to the “amateur” men’s flag football team. It reinforced the notion that anyone could play. A lot of non-fans (or even casual fans) might not know Jayden Daniel’s’ name off-hand, but everyone knows Brady’s name. Hearing that he lost to some (ostensibly) random guy named Darrell is a huge boost to the NFL’s pitch that flag football is universally accessible.
Of course, there won’t be much discussion as to the fact that this guy named Darrell is actually an elite world competitor in this sport that is very different from actual football, but the perception is what it is. Goodell and the owners don’t actually really like football all that much (with a handful of exceptions, probably); they use it as a product, as a means to figure out how to increase profits every year by increasing “efficiency” and expanding the market footprint beyond what it already is. Opening up a league in a different and only somewhat related sport is just another way to make more money…even if, as proven by Brady’s event, flag football is an entirely different sport in reality.
More football for the NFL to exploit via gambling!
Gambling on flag football… Right up there with gambling on cornhole…
Murderers on both rosters, if that’s a requirement.
Easing the way for the NFL itself to convert to flag football by 2037. If ratings are high for this type of football, it will be inevitable but it can also blow up in their face like New Coca Cola in the early 80s. Hopefully, the collision, tackle nature of the league will never change.
will be interesting to see how long it takes a flag football league to turn a profit
Doubt it will
In another generation, this will be the NFL.
alternate scenario: link to i.pinimg.com
Is this a way for them to wash their money? I just don’t see how this will be watchable on a weekly basis. This would likely be that Spring and Summer time, would have little interest sitting out in sun to attend. Perhaps most will be indoors.
Goodell has been made aware of your concerns and will be offering fans with sensitive skin a 3 oz bottle of sunscreen at the bargain price of $50.
The NFL is apparently jealous of the WNBA.