Key Takeaways
- Flag football championships reached 7.7 million fans this summer across ABC, ESPN Deportes, and Disney+, up 65% year over year
- Oakley’s Icon Alliance tournament will expand to 16 teams in regional rounds in 2025, providing girls access to NFL facilities and broadcast coverage
- Youth demographic engagement rates with Oakley have increased by double digits over the past three years
- The brand serves as official eyewear partner for USA Football’s national teams through the LA28 Olympics, where flag football debuts
- Oakley has sponsored the NFL since 2019 and has been present in football culture since the 1990s
Building on Decades of Football Presence
Oakley entered the football market in the 1990s when NFL players including Mel Gray and Warrick Dunn wore the brand’s sunglasses under their helmets, predating the widespread adoption of visors. The eyewear manufacturer has maintained an NFL sponsorship since 2019.
Corey Hill, Oakley’s VP and head of global sports marketing, identified flag football as an opportunity to connect with a changing athlete demographic. “In flag, there’s this culture of eyewear already in 7-on-7 boys football that has carried into girls football,” Hill said. “We felt like it’s a great space for us to continue to cultivate that opportunity with a new audience.”
The timing aligned with both the NFL’s push to grow flag football partnerships and Hill’s personal experience coaching his daughter’s flag team. NFL representatives approached Oakley about flag football opportunities several years ago, leading to what Hill described as a “symbiotic relationship” that began at the local level.
Oakley Icon Alliance Provides Competition Platform
The Oakley Icon Alliance serves as the brand’s primary girls flag football tournament, offering what Hill characterizes as a “premium-level experience, much like what the boys get” at their tournaments. The event includes recovery stations, streaming and broadcast coverage, and games held at NFL facilities.
The tournament will expand to include 16 teams in its regional rounds in 2025. Regional competition is currently underway, with the championship scheduled for February.
“The whole point was to put that top-level experience out there that right now, they’re not necessarily getting from any other brand,” Hill said.
Beyond the Icon Alliance, Oakley maintains a presence at regional and national flag football tournaments, including the NFL Flag Championships.
Tracking Growth in Viewership and Engagement
This summer’s flag football championships aired on ABC, ESPN Deportes, and Disney+, reaching a total of 7.7 million fans. The 65% increase from the previous year’s tournament represents measurable growth in the sport’s media reach, according to ESPN data.
Hill reported that Oakley saw exposure during that broadcast coverage. The brand also captured attention through organic social media moments, including wide receiver Brysen Wright’s viral catch celebration that included a backflip while wearing Oakley sunglasses. “We couldn’t have built a commercial that was any better, because the product then stayed on his face when he did the backflip,” Hill said.
Engagement rates among Oakley’s youth demographic have increased by double digits over the past three years. While Hill noted that flag football is one factor among several contributing to this growth, the brand has measured sales growth for products promoted specifically in flag football contexts, including its HyperGrip technology.
Hill explained the strategic focus on younger consumers: “One of the things that we want to make sure that we’re doing is talking to the consumers that we think can help grow the brand. In the past, I would say our consumer had skewed a little older and male. Bringing in younger, female [consumers] really helps to grow our potential market base.”
Olympic Debut and International Competition on Horizon
Flag football will debut as an Olympic sport in 2028 at the LA Games. Oakley holds the position of official eyewear partner for USA Football’s men’s, women’s, and junior national teams through LA28.
The brand also sponsors Mexican flag football athlete Diana Flores and plans to maintain visibility at the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships, which will showcase both the Team USA sponsorship and individual athlete partnerships.
Despite involvement at elite levels, Hill emphasized that youth athletes remain the primary focus. “We’re really all about making sure that there’s opportunities for sport for young people,” he said. “We think [flag] is a super disruptive space. It’s obviously different than anything that’s been out there.”
Strategic Focus on Pipeline Development
The Oakley team identified a gap in the development pathway between youth and national level competition for girls flag football. Hill said the brand’s efforts in the lead-up to LA28 will prioritize creating opportunities for young girls to develop skills between those levels.
The approach centers on providing both competition infrastructure through tournaments like the Icon Alliance and visibility through media coverage and facility access that matches what male athletes receive at their events.
“In the past three years, we’ve been supporting flag football organizations and athletes from youth tournaments to national teams,” Hill said, outlining the brand’s goal of growing both the sport’s participation and Oakley’s appeal among women and younger consumers.
via: Marketing Brew
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