Super Bowl LIX commercial pushes for high school girls flag football in all 50 states

During Sunday night's Super Bowl, the NFL pushed for the sport to become a varsity high school sport throughout the country
Patterson's I'Meriah Thorne eludes Boonsboro's Morgan Cook during the action at the Maryland girls flag football state championships at M&T Bank Stadium.
Patterson's I'Meriah Thorne eludes Boonsboro's Morgan Cook during the action at the Maryland girls flag football state championships at M&T Bank Stadium. / Victor Green

Currently there are 15 states throughout the country that sanction girls flag football as a high school sport.

The National Football League (NFL) during Super Bowl LIX made a push to try and make that a nation-wide deal.

During the Philadelphia Eagles' 40-22 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL aired a commercial, which featured former NFL'ers Pat McAfee, Marshawn Lynch and current stars Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings), Myles Garrett (Cleveland Browns), in which the league pushed for every state in the United States to make girls flag football an official varsity sport.

The sport of girls flag football's participation grew by over 100 percent, according to the National Federation of High Schools and is the fastest growing among all sports on the high school level.

There's 18 more states that are currently running pilot programs in hopes of also sanctioning the sport of girls flag football, which if all decide to do so, would bring the number to 33 total.

If the NFL's influence helps, the goal is that all 50 states will soon have girls flag football recognized as a varsity sport across the nation.


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-- Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi


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Andy Villamarzo
ANDY VILLAMARZO

Andy Villamarzo has been a sports writer in the Tampa Bay (FL) Area since 2007, writing for publications such as Tampa Bay Times, The Tampa Tribune, The Suncoast News, Tampa Beacon, Hernando Sun to name a few. Andy resides out of the Tarpon Springs, FL area and started as a writer with SB Live Sports in the summer of 2022 covering the Tampa Bay Area. He has quickly become one of Florida's foremost authorities on high school sports, appearing frequently on podcasts, radio programs and digital broadcasts as an expert on team rankings, recruiting and much more.