Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning (Getty Images)
The NFL announced on Monday, March 30, 2026, that it is teaming up with TMRW Sports to build a professional flag football league for men and women. NFL clubs, through their investment arm 32 Equity, have approved up to $32 million to get it started. No launch date or team list exists yet, but the plan is to open ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where flag football makes its debut. Peyton and Eli Manning already know the format at a professional level, since they helped bring flag football into the Pro Bowl in 2023, and it has stayed there. It won the job after a competitive process, and NFL clubs then authorized 32 Equity, their shared investment vehicle, to put up to $32 million into launch and operations.
Because it emphasizes the most fun elements of football: speed, agility and creativity, in the league’s announcement, Brady said, “Flag football is an incredibly exciting global game that will continue to grow.
“We are here to help the NFL build this league,” McCarley said. Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Eli Manning are among the investors, alongside Joe Montana, Steve Young, Larry Fitzgerald and Serena Williams. The three quarterbacks carry different kinds of weight here. Brady is listed as a key stakeholder and ambassador, and he has been the loudest voice on what the game offers. ” A new league needs parents, kids and athletes to take it seriously from day one, and few names do that faster than these three. Their credibility may matter more than their checks. Look at the spread of eras. Montana and Young played in a different century, while Wilson, Wagner and Armstead still have NFL careers to manage. That gives the league a face for every generation of fan. The NFL and TMRW say they are still talking with more investors and with possible media and sponsorship partners, so the list is not final. The operator is TMRW Sports, the company behind The Golf League. The clubs had voted in December to support building a pro league. TMRW founder and CEO Mike McCarley has floated one scheduling idea: a summer season that would run right into the NFL’s fall calendar. The event was useful as a preview, mostly of what a pro league cannot rely on. Famous names can fill a one-night showcase. A season needs full rosters, real rivalries and players who treat flag football as their job, not a charity weekend. The Olympic hopefuls on Team USA looked like the harder-edged version of what the league will need to find.