The NFL and TMRW Sports, which was co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, are developing a professional flag football league for men and women. The inaugural season is slated for 2027, and all 32 NFL teams are backing the league.
Tennis legend Serena Williams is also a part of the investment group and is helping the sport’s rapid global growth ahead of its debut at the 2028 Olympic Games. However, some naysayers don’t believe in this vision.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter recently posted renderings of the stadium, which will be used for the flag football league. In response to the post, critics questioned whether the league would become successful, and some suggested that the NFL should focus on fixing the synthetic turf issue that’s causing harm to players.
Serena Williams’ husband, Alexis Ohanian, clapped back at the critics, stating that flag football will become bigger than they can imagine.
“Flag football about to be MUCH bigger than yall think. Proud to be in the first round of this innovative new league. Watch and see! There were so many haters in the replies when we announced TGL, and those tweets aged like milk. LOVE proving y’all wrong,” he wrote on X.
Ohanian seems motivated to prove that the flag football league can not only become a success, but it’ll also help put the sport on a global scale. With the 2028 Olympics coming up, it’s the perfect time to make the sport more accessible for new fans.
Several notable athletes have stepped in to help with the vision of the flag football league alongside the NFL and TMRW Sports. Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Steve Young, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Justin Tuck, Ryan Nece, Arik Armstead, Bobby Wagner, Russell Wilson, Billie Jean King, Ilana Kloss, Alex Morgan, and Serena Williams have been the early investors.
Flag Football League Has Been in the Pipeline for Decades
TMRW Sports founder and CEO Mike McCarley talked about flag football in March this year when the partnership with the NFL was first announced. McCarley stated that flag football has been gaining momentum for decades.
“The momentum behind flag football has been building for decades,” he said, as per ESPN. “The pathway is there. And I think a lot of you are seeing in your communities where from youth to high school, now in college, and in two years at the Olympic Games in Los Angeles.”
The sport can truly become global when kids around the world aspire to become professional football players one day. McCarley believes that flag football’s inclusion in the upcoming Olympics will be a step in the right direction.
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