NFL launching two new leagues with $32m investment from icons including Tom Brady already confirmed

May 20, 2026 - 15:30

The NFL has truly asserted itself as a global enterprise.

In 2026, a record-breaking slate of nine international games across four different continents and seven countries will be played during the regular season.

General view inside the stadium prior to the NFL match between Atlanta Falcons and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium on October 01, 2023 in London, England. — A record-breaking nine international games in four different countries will be played during the 2026 NFL season

At the upcoming 2028 LA Olympics, traditional American Football will not be played, but, for the first time ever, flag football will.

The league has been one of the biggest endorsers of flag football and has played a key role in the sport’s entry as a Summer Games event.

In December, the NFL‘s ownership group unanimously approved a $32 million investment to support the development and launch of a professional flag football league.

Following this, the NFL announced a partnership with TMRW Sports for the development and operation of a professional flag football league.

TMRW Sports played a crucial role in launching the alternative golf league, TGL, which concluded after a successful first season.

Peter O’Reilly, the league’s executive vice president of club business, international and league events, has provided a new update.

The NFL is eyeing a late-spring or early summer 2027 launch for its two professional flag football leagues, one for men and one for women, according to O’Reilly who appeared on the Up & Adams Show.

“We’re in the lab, if you will, of really building what that league’s going to be like,” O’Reilly said, via The Athletic.

“Thinking about what’s the structure of it, where are we playing games, how does it roll out?

“Incredibly exciting to be having conversations with the athletes who are going to play in this league, who maybe dreamed one day there might be a professional flag league, and now we’re saying, ‘This is real.’”

NFL Executive Vice President, Club Business, International & League Events Peter O'Reilly announce to the media that the NFL will play a regular season game in Madrid, Spain in 2025 during a press conference at the Mandalay Bay North Convention Center on February 9, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. — O’Reilly gave a 2027 target for the launch of their new Flag Football League

There will be both a men’s and women’s league in one of the fastest growing sports in the world

Getty

Flag football is among the world’s fastest-growing sports, with 20 million participants at youth, men’s, and women’s levels across 100 countries.

Fanatics Flag Football Classic’s future up in the air

Tom Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and Fanatics recently partnered to present fans with a taste of what flag football can offer.

The Flag Football Classic included current and former NFL players like Rob Gronkowski, Joe Burrow, and Jayden Daniels alongside content creators such as Logan Paul, who ended up ‘beefing’ with Brady.

Even before the first snap, the event was forced to be relocated to Los Angeles from Riyadh, following rising tensions in the Middle East.

Tom Brady #12 of Founders FFC looks to pass in front of Logan Paul #19 of Wildcats FFC during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic 2026 at BMO Stadium on March 21, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. — The Fanatics Flag Football classic could lose it’s financial backing after 2025

The plan for the NFL’s pro flag football league appears to be progressing well.

The 2028 Olympics will serve as the perfect stage for the sport to truly reach a global audience.

Flag football could quickly become a global phenomenon, much like regular American Football.

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