Aaron Rodgers donates to USA Football to boost women’s flag team for LA28

USA Football announced on May 27 that Aaron Rodgers had made a donation to support the U.S. Women’s National Flag Football Team, a gift meant to strengthen the program’s buildup to the sport’s Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. Rodgers made the commitment during the fifth annual RX3 Charity Flag Football Tournament on March 21 in Mission Viejo, California, where he competed with Deliah Autry-Jones, Laneah Bryan, Ashley Edwards, Madison Fulford, Brianna Hernandez-Silva, Maci Joncich, Vanita Krouch and Addison Orsborn.

The money is set to go into the daily mechanics that separate medal contenders from everyone else. USA Football said it will support year-round athlete training, competition and educational initiatives, along with sport performance services, elite-level coaching, Olympic Training Centers and international competitions. Scott Hallenbeck, USA Football’s chief executive and executive director, said Rodgers’ investment creates “real momentum” for the game and sends a message about where flag football is headed. In a sport still building its Olympic-pathway infrastructure, those resources matter as much as the spotlight.

The women’s national team has already shown how high the standard is. At the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championships in Lahti, Finland, the U.S. women beat Mexico 31-18 and finished 8-0, while the men beat Austria 53-21 and finished 7-0. The tournament drew 32 men’s and 23 women’s national teams from six continents and was broadcast on Olympic Channel and IFAF.TV, giving the sport a larger stage just as Olympic interest accelerates.

The broader pipeline is still catching up to that level of play. USA Football said flag football now has more than 1.7 million participants, a 7.3% increase since 2023, and girls’ flag football is sanctioned as a varsity sport in more than 20 states and Washington, D.C. The NAIA already offers scholarships and a national championship in women’s flag football, and the NCAA Committee on Access, Opportunity and Impact has recommended legislation that would add a National Collegiate Flag Football Championship.

USA Football, the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee-recognized governing body for the national teams, said it has won 15 IFAF world championships since 2010. With the NFL owners approving player participation for Olympic flag football in May 2025, the path to LA28 is getting wider, but the women’s team still needs the same thing every elite program needs: more reps, more support and more chances to compete at the highest level.