Broncos extend youth football program to boost flag participation

The Denver Broncos Foundation is stretching ALL IN. ALL COVERED. into a 2026-30 program built to remove the biggest obstacle in youth football: cost. The extension is aimed at both tackle and flag, with the foundation planning to cover registration fees for underserved youth through Every Kid Sports and widen access to individual and shared team equipment through Good Sports.

That makes the Broncos’ next move more than a simple add-on to last year’s helmet drive. The original ALL IN. ALL COVERED. launched on Jan. 28, 2025, and sent more than 15,000 new Riddell Axiom smart helmets at no cost to every one of Colorado’s 277 high schools. The team called it the single largest philanthropic investment in franchise history, and the program later earned a Hashtag Sports Award in June 2026 in the Best Youth Sports Partnership category.

The new extension leans into access from a different angle. Rather than only outfitting high schools, it is designed to help younger players get onto the field in the first place, especially in underserved communities where fees and equipment can decide whether a child plays at all. That is the real test of the Broncos’ broader push: whether dollars can turn into actual participation, not just better gear sitting in a locker room.

The timing fits a wider NFL effort to grow the sport at the grassroots level. NFL Play Football says youth sports participation has fallen 13% over the last decade, while flag football has kept growing because it is fast, no-contact and easier to enter. The league also says about 35% of surveyed kids who quit flag football later move into tackle, which gives the Broncos’ dual-track strategy a practical logic: flag can be the entry point, tackle can be the next step.

The Broncos are not alone in that thinking. NFL FLAG and Pop Warner Little Scholars announced a nationwide partnership on Aug. 5, 2025, to expand access and pathways across youth football. But Denver’s program stands out because it ties the access problem directly to money, equipment and two different versions of the game, rather than treating participation as a vague feel-good target.