NFL continues efforts to grow flag football: Drew Brees joins Dak Prescott, others as global ambassador

This week, the National Football League and the International Federation of American Football announced Super Bowl champion Drew Brees as a new Global Flag Football Ambassador.

Five new names were added to the list. Brees is one of the most notable among them.

Dak Prescott was named as a Global Flag Football Ambassador with a previous announcement in September along with several other prominent athletes.

Jalen Hurts, Lamar Jackson, Cooper Kupp, and Eli Manning are just a few of the other recognizable names on the ambassador team.

With this latest addition, the ambassador team has grown to 41 men and women occupying various sports-related roles.

The formation of the Flag Football Ambassadors team was first announced in 2022.

According to NFL Communications, the team, “supports the combined global efforts of the NFL and IFAF to increase awareness, interest and participation in flag football internationally and drive forward the development of the game.”

The growth of flag football is attributed to it being very accessible and inclusive.

Currently, flag football is played in over 100 countries. It is a fast-paced, non-contact sport that doesn't require the purchase of protective gear. It is also played by people of all ages and genders.

THE FUTURE OF FOOTBALL

In 2022 the NFL's executive vice president of football operations, Troy Vincent, responded to the concerns on the minds of every American football fan.

He made it clear that flag football is the future of the sport.

NFL Communications called it, “cornerstone of the NFL's domestic and international participation and development strategies.”

Vincent did add a caveat in his statement that suggested professional football won't transition into or be replaced by flag football.

He said, “When I've been asked over the last 24 months, in particular, what does the next 100 years look like when you look at football, not professional football, it's flag. It's the inclusion and the true motto of ‘football for all.' There is a place in flag football for all.”

The NFL has already launched its own brand of flag football, NFL Flag, which has grown into the largest youth flag football league in the United States.

NFL Flag Canada has also been established. They are collaborating with the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings to create more opportunities for youth north of the border to play the sport.

The NFL and IFAF are also working to have flag football included in the Olympics as early as 2028.

CAN FLAG AND CONTACT FOOTBALL COEXIST?

It's the expansion of opportunities and inclusion of people that would not normally play contact football that leads to flag football being the future of the sport.

Well some might consider it to be counter-intuitive, it's not unreasonable for the NFL to involve itself as much as possible in the development of a sport that could otherwise become a major competitor.

The XFL has also invested in youth flag football. The XFL and Under the Lights hosted the first ever Youth Flag Football World Championships in San Antonio in December.

As youth, collegiate, and professional flag football leagues continue to grow, it remains to be seen how they will co-exist with contact football and how contact football might change as a result.

For now, the NFL is investing in both with plans for both forms of American football to keep expanding.