{"id":735571,"date":"2026-02-07T12:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/735571\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T12:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T12:18:23","slug":"flag-footballs-growth-only-increases-nfls-popularity-globally","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/735571\/","title":{"rendered":"Flag football’s growth only increases NFL’s popularity globally"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Dak Prescott snapping the ball to Jalen Hurts is a play that can only be witnessed at the Pro Bowl Games, the centerpiece for the NFL\u2019s push to grow flag football on the biggest stage this week at the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

Prescott wasn\u2019t just filling in at center, though. He quickly turned and ran backward to catch a lateral from Hurts so he could do what he does best \u2014 throw the ball. <\/p>\n

Prescott fired a touchdown pass on one of the many creative plays that were part of an entertaining game between the AFC and NFC all-stars \u2014 or the players who chose to participate, including quarterbacks Joe Flacco and Shedeur Sanders.<\/p>\n

Joe Burrow threw a pass and got it back on a lateral before running in for a score on another one of those made-for-flag trick plays.<\/p>\n

While the league\u2019s new format for the Pro Bowl has drawn heavy criticism from folks who want to see tackle football, the players enjoy it, the energy in the crowd was electric and it was quite competitive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a blast,\u201d 49ers All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey said. \u201cIt\u2019s definitely a different game. So many similarities, though. To get the competitive juices going late in that game was a lot of fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Packers All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons couldn\u2019t play because he had surgery for a torn ACL in his knee. But he drove around on a scooter and interacted with all the players.<\/p>\n

\"Team<\/p>\n

Team Pink’s guest coach Brock Purdy from San Francisco 49ers attends the Toyota Glow-Up Classic flag football game in San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Credit: AP\/Santiago Mejia<\/p>\n

\u201cI love this event. I hope it keeps growing and we could keep doing these types of things,\u201d Parsons said. \u201cPeople who want us to play a real football game don\u2019t realize it\u2019s a whole different money game. You\u2019re talking about quarterbacks risking injury and you\u2019re a $60 million quarterback or a $55 million quarterback. … We gotta be somewhat more realistic. Imagine losing Dak Prescott or Jalen Hurts getting tackled in the Pro Bowl game. … It\u2019s just not worth it. They should just enjoy the fan experience and the player experience. <\/p>\n

“We come out here and have a good time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pro Bowl was rebranded in 2022 as the league was beginning to prioritize flag football in an effort to increase the sport\u2019s popularity globally, create opportunities for females to play the game and set it up for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s one of the hottest sports in the world,\u201d NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said this week. \u201cIt\u2019s meeting the demand of people who want to play this game. I\u2019m tremendously inspired when you see people who didn\u2019t have access to this game and they have a chance to play. That\u2019s particularly true for young women. And to see what it does for them – the building of confidence, the ability to understand what we know from playing the game, about the values of the game and teamwork and discipline, and all the things that come with playing this game – I think it\u2019s great to be able to share that with those.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"New<\/p>\n

New York Giants legend Eli Manning is a referee during the Toyota Glow-Up Classic flag football game at the Moscone Center in San Francisco on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. Credit: AP\/Santiago Mejia<\/p>\n

The week\u2019s flag football events kicked off with the 2026 NFL Flag International Championship featuring the top U13 co-ed teams from 14 countries competing in a three-day tournament, culminating in the deciding game on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The NFL also hosted for the second year in a row on Tuesday a showcase of the nation\u2019s top girls high school flag football athletes. Thirty-two seniors from high schools across the country, nominated by NFL clubs, competed in a matchup that mirrored the setup of the Pro Bowl Games.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, it was the Toyota Glow Up Classic, a glow-in-the-dark flag football game that promotes girls flag and showcased some of the Bay Area\u2019s best female high school players playing under UV lights with glowing jerseys and gear.<\/p>\n

It drew an all-star cast of NFL stars and a large group of credentialed media members.<\/p>\n

Two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning and Kylie Kelce, wife of Jason Kelce, served as referees for the game, while Brock Purdy, Jordan Love, Puka Nacua, Michael Pittman Jr. and Kyle Hamilton were coaches.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played flag football growing up,\u201d Manning said. \u201cI love the sport. It\u2019s really about giving everyone an opportunity to play football. You see their excitement and joy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toyota, which is an official NFL Flag partner, also provided a donation to support the installation of lights at a middle school field in the Bay area.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can learn a lot of lessons out here on the football field that will help you in life,\u201d Love said.<\/p>\n

The Seattle Seahawks, who take on the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday, hosted a free flag football camp for girls in grades 6-9 in Palo Alto on Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Special Olympics Flag Football team participated in a flag football clinic hosted by All-Pro fullback Kyle Juszczyk on Friday.<\/p>\n

Invisalign, which partnered with Juszczyk, also hosted a Girls Flag Empowerment Day on Saturday. USA Flag athlete Ashlea Klam, American flag football player Isabella Geraci, Rome Odunze and Hall of Famer Jerry Rice were set to make appearances.<\/p>\n

The NFL wants to become a global powerhouse. Flag football is a path to get there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO \u2014 Dak Prescott snapping the ball to Jalen Hurts is a play that can only be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":735572,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,7,6,1161,252,2624,2623,2309],"class_list":{"0":"post-735571","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-football","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-san-francisco","12":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","13":"tag-sanfrancisco","14":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers","15":"tag-wires-bot"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=735571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/735571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/735572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=735571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=735571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=735571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}