Key Takeaways
- The United States Air Force joins Real American Freestyle as an Official Partner, with the deal activating August 22 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland.
- RAF reports more than 300 million social views per event since launching in August 2025, according to the league.
- Fan-facing elements include the Air Force Honor Guard presenting the National Anthem and in-person activations with current and former service members.
- The league operates a national youth wrestling tournament series and is acquiring clubs through RAF NEXT GEN and RAF Clubs.
Real American Freestyle (RAF), the professional freestyle wrestling league founded by Chad Bronstein, Izzy Martinez and Eric Bischoff, announced on August 11 that the United States Air Force has signed on as an Official Partner. The agreement begins at RAF12, the league’s one-year anniversary event, on August 22 at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. Financial terms were not disclosed. The partnership attaches a military branch to a property that is simultaneously running a national youth wrestling tournament series and buying clubs at the grassroots level, per the league’s announcement.
What the Air Force Partnership Covers
RAF described the agreement as a multi-event partnership spanning event weekends rather than a single-night sponsorship. The most visible element is the presentation of the National Anthem by the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard. Beyond that, the league said fans will see original content, immersive activations and in-person appearances by current and former service members.
Master Sgt. James Wells, Division Superintendent of Marketing Outreach, framed the fit around shared traits. “Those same qualities define both America’s Airmen and the athletes who compete in Real American Freestyle,” Wells said in the announcement, referring to discipline, preparation and daily improvement.
The Air Force stated that partnerships like this one connect the branch with new audiences by showcasing teamwork, innovation and the pursuit of excellence that define military service. Neither party disclosed recruiting targets, impression guarantees or contract length.
A One-Year-Old League With National Distribution
RAF launched in August 2025 and says it has become one of the fastest-growing properties in combat sports, generating billions of media impressions and more than 300 million social views per event. All events stream live exclusively on FOX Nation.
RAF12 carries the deepest card the league has assembled to date. Merab Dvalishvili faces Henry Cejudo in a rematch for the RAF Lightweight Crossover Championship, and Jordan Burroughs makes his RAF debut against Sean Brady in the co-main event. The card includes four championship bouts and features Gable Steveson, Bo Nickal, Kennedy Blades, David Carr and Jason Nolf.
That roster mixes Olympic and NCAA wrestling names with MMA crossover athletes, which is the audience blend the Air Force is buying into.
How Real American Freestyle Is Building a Youth Wrestling Pipeline
The grassroots layer is where this partnership carries weight for the youth sports market. RAF said it is building a broader wrestling ecosystem through three channels: athlete development initiatives, a national youth wrestling tournament series, and club acquisition under RAF NEXT GEN and RAF Clubs.
That structure puts RAF in a small group of professional properties that own both the top of the sport and the entry point. Club acquisition in particular gives the league direct control of registration, competition calendars and athlete relationships rather than licensing access to them.
For sponsors, that matters. A brand partnering with RAF at the professional level is buying into an organization that also touches youth participants through its own events and clubs. The league has not disclosed how many clubs it has acquired, how many events the youth series runs, or whether the Air Force partnership extends to any RAF NEXT GEN or RAF Clubs property.
What August 22 in Cleveland Actually Puts on the Floor
RAF12 will show the first version of this partnership: an Honor Guard, service member activations and original content built around a championship card in an NBA arena. The league gets a federal partner one year into its existence. The Air Force gets a combat sports audience it did not previously reach through traditional sports media.
The unanswered piece is the youth side. RAF has drawn its clearest numbers around media reach, not participation, and it has not put figures behind the tournament series or the clubs it is acquiring. Until it does, the pipeline it says it is building remains the least measured part of a league that just added the United States Air Force to its partner list.
Source: Real American Freestyle, August 11, 2026, https://realamericanfreestyle.com
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Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
