NFL may launch men’s and women’s pro flag football leagues, Roger Goodell says
"“We’re exploring very aggressively now an opportunity to create a professional flag [football] league for both men and women, obviously two different leagues,”
More in the NFL
NEW ORLEANS – The NFL is in discussions with potential investors about the possibility of launching a set of professional flag football leagues, Commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday.
The endeavor would involve separate leagues for men’s and women’s teams, Goodell said at his annual news conference during Super Bowl week.
“We’re exploring very aggressively now an opportunity to create a professional flag [football] league for both men and women, obviously two different leagues,” Goodell said. “I think this is something that we’ve been working on for several months [with] a tremendous amount of interest from players, from investors.”
Goodell did not provide specifics or mention a prospective timeline for the leagues being established.
The NFL has boosted the growth of flag football. It launched a youth tournament with hopes that it someday could rival the popularity of the Little League World Series. It now plays a flag football game as part of its annual Pro Bowl Games, after scrapping the tackle version of the postseason all-star game.
Goodell continues to leave open the possibility that NFL players will be permitted to participate in flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I think that’s a great opportunity,” Goodell said Monday. “Listen, the Olympics is the greatest international stage.”
Goodell addressed a variety of other topics as he spoke to reporters for close to 50 minutes Monday in the New Orleans Saints’ locker room at the Superdome.
– – –
18-game season
Goodell said he has had informal discussions with Lloyd Howell, the executive director of the NFL Players Association, about the implementation of an 18-game regular season.
“We haven’t had any formal negotiating sessions about an extension” of the labor deal, Goodell said. “I’m certain it will come up in the context of that in some fashion. It is something that Lloyd and I have had informal conversations about. But there’s a lot of work to be done. We committed in 2011 when we signed the collective bargaining agreement that the players would not only have a say in that, but they would actually be able to prevent it from happening or support it to happen. We were able to do that when we moved to 17 games back in 2020.”
Any move from a 17-game to an 18-game season would be accompanied by a reduction of the preseason from three to two games per team and would have to be done in a manner, Goodell said, that would be as safe as possible for players.
“I think all of those are factors in how do we look at the offseason,” Goodell said, “and how do we look at that with our partners, the players. … If we do 18 and two, it might be a possibility because we know that the fans love football. They want more football. But we have to be incredibly sensitive and smart about the balance and how we deal with that. I think that’s something that I think we’re all interested in focusing on. But it hasn’t begun yet.”
– – –
Electronic first downs
The NFL hopes to be able to measure first downs electronically at some point, Goodell said.
“I do think that technology will exist sometime in the future,” Goodell said. “We’re continuing [to work] with our partners just how to advance that as quickly as possible so we can get to that place.”
The NFL has tested an electronic system to measure first downs and could utilize it next season, according to a person familiar with the league’s planning. But that’s not definite at this point, according to that person. And the system still would involve the on-field officials spotting the football manually before the system would be used to determine whether that spot of the ball results in a first down.
– – –
Tom Brady
The league will reevaluate the team-access restrictions that it placed on Tom Brady this season, Goodell said, based on his dual role as a part-owner of the Las Vegas Raiders and an analyst for Fox on its NFL broadcasts.
“Everybody in the National Football League, owners and personnel, is still subject to the tampering rules and other policies,” Goodell said. “They’re responsible for that conduct and they’re all held accountable through that. In the case of this actual transition, as you know, we had special rules that were designed for this [based on] some of the concerns that some of the ownership had on this, and to make sure as we learned a little bit more about this, where could there possibly be any kind of conflicts? That’s something that we’ll obviously consider in the offseason and think about: Should that policy be adjusted? Should something be added or subtracted?”
But Goodell also said he believed that Brady, who is set to call Sunday’s Super Bowl for Fox, handled the situation well this season.
“Tom has been incredibly cooperative,” Goodell said. “He calls frequently about it and says, ‘Am I doing okay?’ And I think he’s serious about making sure that he separates the two and he doesn’t put the league or anyone in a position of conflict.”
– – –
International Super Bowl
Goodell said he believes that a Super Bowl eventually could be played in an international venue.
“I do think there’s a potential that someday we’re going to have an international franchise,” Goodell said. “And if we do, I think it would not surprise me at all if the Super Bowl follows and is played there.”
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com