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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. This is the business of sports.
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Speaker 2: Our aim is always to leverage the global appeal of football.
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Speaker 3: Having representation in college sports is even more important than pro ten percent of Americans now Clay sokup to be that favorite sport.
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Speaker 1: We estimate the U sports audience has three trillion dollars in spending power.
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Speaker 4: The nature of baseball is, it is worldwide and it is Flora.
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Speaker 5: I'm very happy for the WNBA and how the NBA has embraced them.
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Speaker 3: Sports books are not going anywhere, and sports betting is only growing.
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Speaker 6: We have a super team running this league, and this league is here and it's here to stay.
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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
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Speaker 5: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues wor old with sports.
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Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr, I'm Vanessa Prudoma Maglion, and I'm Randa Williams.
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Speaker 5: Vanessa is back from France and came back with some great conversation.
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Speaker 2: Yes, I was at the can Line International Festival of Creativity in France and got the chance to catch up with a lot of athletes and executives in the sports world. While the World Cup is the biggest thing right now, a lot of my conversations were looking ahead to some of the next big events in sports. You hear a little of my conversation with Tomorrow Sports CEO Mike McCarley and pro flag football player Ashley Klamm, who are both working to push the sport to new heights.
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Speaker 5: All that on the way, but we start with some of the big headlines in the world of sports this week, starting with hmm, what's on everybody's mind? And hmm, what is Vanessa thinking about right now?
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Speaker 6: Oh?
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Speaker 5: Yes, the US moving on in the World Cup.
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Speaker 2: I won't stop thinking about this until Monday, and I won't get over it. I don't think ever unless the men actually end up going through. The US men are going through, which is really exciting. But flow Ballagan getting the red card and not being available for the round of sixteen a game against Belgium, I think it's bad.
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Speaker 7: I think it's bad the fact that there's no appeal system to some of these things, like the accidental contact. I understand what they were explaining on the broadcast about how you know he could have broken his ankle. Then that's why the result is the result. However, missing the next match for it, Like if he has to sit out for one match, fine, like the rest of it, but the next match that's so harsh.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's this horrible system, especially like with the World Cup, right, I mean it's this is what happens in tournaments. You get a red card, you you know, you sit out the next game. But when you look at the play and you look at the slow motion, is the reason why he got the red card, right, it's the slow motion of it all, and it's the still image that you literally can't say, yes, it kind of looks like he was breaking his ankle. But at the same time, when you watch the play outright, it was absolutely accidental. It wasn't on purpose, it wasn't violent, and I think it has a huge implication for for what the us Men can do in the next round.
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Speaker 7: Yeah, it's to me, I'm like, if this was a dirty play, the person would have the exact same result, The would be the exact same They would still be suspended for the next match. But the fact that this accidental contact is like, all right, Like, if this was a careless action, let him sit for the rest of the match. We just saw Lionel Messi do something very similar, but the fact that he's the goat is the reason why I think that that didn't happen, because you have a hard time explaining to broadcasters and sponsors that Messi isn't playing for something that was accidental. But the US is obviously not Lionel Messi.
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Speaker 5: And if we're going to go old school, yeah, because I'm going football, then you need to throw Lawrence Taylor out big time because of the accident. It was an accident against Joe Feisman. I saw that. I was like, oh gosh, and it's like, you know, and of course mister Taylor played you know, the next play, and it's like and nothing against Lawrence Taylor at all. It was it was an accident, would happened. But that's my point is, look, that was an accident, and we're going to lose the guy now, you know, for the next match.
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Speaker 7: I think the bigger thing is just needs to be an appeal system, because there's a difference between a dirty play and an accidental play, and that was the line was not blurred in the match between the US and their opponent, and.
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Speaker 2: Let's make sure we lay that out exactly. Because people were asking, maybe is there a potential, you know, appeal process. People online were trying to understand if there was, but FIFA has laid out in their rules and did confirm to the Athletic late during the week that it was that there is no appeal process. There is no appeal process and they can't do anything about it. And this is why var sometimes shouldn't be used in these instances. It's supposed to be used for aggressive acts and this was not an aggressive act.
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Speaker 7: I think the bigger thing for me is that if we remember this tournament long term, what is going to be the legacy of the twenty twenty six World Cup In the host nations. It's like Mexico has been having a ball.
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Speaker 2: And they I want to be in Mexico City right now, so bad.
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Speaker 7: Mexico has been having a ball, Canada has been performing well, in the US has been performing well. So now you have three host countries doing very well, and obviously with the US hosting the most matches for them to then have one of their best players not be able to play in the most important match, and granted, like the US team is still in good condition to be able to compete against Belgium. But if you take someone like Lukaku off of Belgium, I'm sure Belgium would be complaining as well. And I would hate for this to happen for any of the teams. I know that we're all you know, we all live here and so we feel closer to this, but it shouldn't happen across the board. There should be an appeal process.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, and you can't. It's in these tournaments. It just unless it was egregious, you shouldn't be taking the best players or the most aggressive players or whatever it is, off of the teams because it's it's simply not the way you want to win. And then let's just do another round up there. That England also came back from a one nothing win. I mean they were I mean they came back from one nothing to win two to one because a Harry Kane is absolutely out of his mind right now.
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Speaker 5: I'm listening to the to the match and all of a sudden, it's like they're down by the goal already is like whoa, It's like I had money on.
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Speaker 2: That and the Dr Congo was playing incredible.
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Speaker 7: The goalie is playing out of his mind.
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Speaker 2: I also have England to win, so I should have been excited, but I just feel like Congo was playing so well. I love a goalkeeper. We all know this. I was a goalkeeper. I love a goalkeeper performance so imposse. I just feel like he deserved it.
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Speaker 7: It is a bit unfortunate that it feels like all of the African countries participating in the World Cup have received the same script. Yes, like they play phenomenal for ninety three percent of the match, and that's seven percent that they don't play phenomenal they lose.
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Speaker 2: Let's talk about Senegal and Belgium there for a second. Then that's what you're talking about. Senegal is winning two nothing with eighty four minutes and somehow and they lose three to two. I also hate like a late in the game penalty kick. I just can't get on board with that. But that's enough on the World Cup. Even though I couldn't literally talk about it all day, all day.
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Speaker 5: I can see we got to talk about Serena Williams, forty four years old, return to the first play at Wimbledon in almost four years. And before that happened, John McEnroe, the great tennis star, talked about h I wonder what Serena's going to do.
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Speaker 4: This is just Serena being Serena, deciding to come back play her first tournament in singles here at Wimbledon, where she dominated for so many years. It's been four years since she played a singles match. That was twenty twenty two at the US Open.
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Speaker 8: Can she win it?
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Speaker 4: I would say that's a stretch right now in her first tournament back, but they're sure is tremendous amount of buzz just to see her back on the court. She'll also be playing doubles with big sister Venus.
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Speaker 5: And now we know obviously that she lost, and she did not attend the press conference. It's supposed to be mandatory, but she didn't attend it. And the reason why is that apparently she suffered a knee injury and that may have given her a pass on not getting a fine. Of why she did not attend the press conference.
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Speaker 7: One of the things that I'm mindful of when our legendary athletes get older is just not everyone is going to be able to perform at their highest level forever. We are in this era where we've seen Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and Lebron and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant all transcend time and space in terms of their productivity on the court and on the field. And I think Serena is still the most dominant female tennis player of my lifetime. And I think this is a tall task for her to come back, and it's exciting to have her in the sport. The sport is better within it, But I also think that the sport is better when she's victorious and when she's competitive. And I don't ever want to see anyone go out where it's just like they're out there and they're just losing and losing. It's like a boxer.
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Speaker 2: I think the interesting thing there, too, is when she did retire four years ago, she was still really competitive and maybe that's why she felt like she could come back in this way and still be competitive. But forty four is very different. That's very you know, a good amount of time that passed without being on the tour. I just think it's tough.
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Speaker 5: And by the way, before we move on to the next topic, she lost to Maya Joint who's twenty. I got to give it up for a Serena. You're forty four, You're playing a twenty year old.
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Speaker 2: Hey, and give it up to my joint as well. She had the composure to be out there with a legend.
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Speaker 5: Now talk about blockbuster in the NBA. What man, I don't even know where to begin, but okay, first let's start with Lebron James. Lebron says, you know what, Lakers, it's been real, but I got to split, and so be it. So you talk about being strong, now, you gotta explain this, man.
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Speaker 7: The reason I say so be it is because Lebron I think revived the Lakers brand after Kobe left, and I don't think he's ever gotten enough credit just because of the fact that his championship was in the pandemic. He was not in control of that, and then you have people calling it a Mickey Mouse championship. They never got a parade, and really, from an ownership level and from a management level, Lakers management has mismanaged the entire team from the moment that that twenty twenty championship was won. And so since then, I think he's done as much as he could. Now there are going to be fans out there that are going to say that he could have taken a pay cut, yes, but he was still playing at an elite level, So why would you take a pay cut, especially at the later years of your career when you're going this is probably gonna be one of the only times you're making sixty million that's guaranteed on the court. And so I don't think the Lakers organization truly appreciated him for what he was, just because their superstars of the pass were different. And with that being said, I think in this last chapter des to go wherever he wants he wants and hopefully compete for a championship legitimately this time.
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Speaker 5: Which brings us now, speaking of the NBA, mister Bob Iger and mister Joshua Kushner, they're talking about going into an NBA expansion team.
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Speaker 2: Well, who doesn't want this Vegas team? Randall and tell us is this real?
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Speaker 7: I'll tell you, I am skeptical of all bids so far, just because of the fact that there are two people across the NBA expansion that have announced that they are interested. Number one is Samantha Holloway in Seattle. She's been expressing interest for years. And then we have Bill Foley, who owns the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. He also controls Team Mobile Arena, which is where a Vegas NBA team would play if he were to win it. Everybody else I'm like, okay, we'll see. Because of the fact that it's not bidding time yet, the NBA is still canvassing the landscape. They've hired PJD excuse me, they've hired PJT Partners to run this process, and they also have not committed to expanding yet. Adam Silver said he expects a decision by the end of the year, and so anybody can raise their hand and say that they're interested, but ultimately we will find out who's interested in who's not. I would expect by the end of August at the very latest. And so if Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are interested, we'll find out in the months to come. Josh has also acquired a piece of the San Francisco Giants. He's a part owner of the Miami Heat, so he does have experience. But this Vegas expansion team is going to go for a lot of money.
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Speaker 5: Oh man, Vanessa, we got to get back to your interviews best.
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Speaker 2: We got to get back to it, you know. So up next we'll be talking to Tomorrow Sports CEO about the new professional flag football league they are building with the NFL.
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Speaker 5: Is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. For Vanessa Perimbo mac Leone and Randon Williams. I'm like, why are you are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
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Speaker 1: Around This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
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Speaker 5: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports.
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Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr, I'm going to Superdomo Maglione, and I'm Randa Williams.
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Speaker 5: After the World Cup is over. No, the next big international tournament is the US hosting the twenty twenty eight LA Olympics, and one of the sports that will be added for the first time is flag football. Randall, You've done a lot of reporting on the subject. Tell us about the landscape of the sport right now.
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Speaker 7: I am bullish on specifically women's flag football. I think that sport is electric. I think that it could be very popular very quickly, and so the NFL has been investing in this for many years. I believe the first press release I read about the NFL's investment in flag football probably dates back to twenty eighteen or twenty seventeen, so they've long been involved than this. But last year they announced that they were going to be looking at different bids from different partners, and they ultimately decided on Tomorrow's Sports who's going to be running the process, Vanessa, you recently spoke with Tomorrow's Sports CEO Mike mccartley while in can did he tell you any more about what we can expect from the league.
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Speaker 2: He told me they're really trying to sort through all the details right now, what their version of the sport's going to be, how many teams there's going to be, But they are full steam ahead to start next year. I think the interesting thing that we spoke about was how they weren't sure what the sport would be and look like as a professional property until the NFL stepped in.
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Speaker 7: And the reason for that is because the NFL is a money printing machine, and so when they say we're in, everyone's in.
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Speaker 5: I was going to say, the NFL, that's the big dog of the sports food groups. That's not a bad partner to have when building up a new football league. Let's take a listen to Vanessa's conversation with Tomorrow's Sports CEO and co founder Mike McCurley.
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Speaker 8: There's a ton of interest around this sport.
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Speaker 3: I mean, I think, as you know, everyone sees what's happening within flag football and the momentum behind it youth, high school, college, now and now pro with the Olympic debut coming up in twenty eight and Ashley clam who we've got to know over the past several months one of the real up and coming stars of the sport most likely will be one of the best on the Olympic team for the Team USA leading into the Olympics in LA And.
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Speaker 8: She's just been.
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Speaker 3: A really good advocate and a good voice in the room as we've started talking to players. She has a great story to tell. I'll let her tell her story, but exactly what she had to do and what her family had to do to find her a place to play because she wanted to be that role model. And now what we're creating and what we're building is something that you know, kids in this country and all around the world can now have professional league that they can look up to and ultimately dream to play in that league, not just dream to play college or the Olympics. But they can also make a living playing flag football.
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Speaker 2: Right, absolutely, So, yeah, let's take a step back and talk a little bit about that and just about the launching of it. Obviously, like with Tomorrow, you guys have been so focused on launching the TV over the last few years. So when did you start noticing this trend in flag football.
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Speaker 3: We had a few investors come to us and ask us about flag football a couple of years ago, and we looked at it and frankly, the sport of football is so dominant, so powerful in this country. It was really attractive to us, but we did we couldn't really see you know, really getting to the next level.
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Speaker 8: With the sport, with the stars of the sport.
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Speaker 3: You know, how are you really going to promote it, How are you going to get the megaphone?
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Speaker 8: How are you going to make sure this is lasting?
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Speaker 3: And then we got a phone call from the NFL and you know, asking us if we wanted to come and talk to them about building a professional flag football league. And you know, when the NFL calls, you listen. My history with the Olympics and then also with the NFL, you know kind of brings all of these things together for what this potentially could be. And you know that, you know, with the NFL's backing, the likelihood and chances of success go up significantly. So we really liked what they were saying to us, and then we came back to them with the vision of creating something that's really thinking about, you know, building a professional sports league and in this time, how would you do it? And in a lot of ways it's a complete blake campus. I mean, how many chances are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch? And then how many times are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch With the NFL as your partner.
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Speaker 8: It was a little bit of a once in a lifetime.
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Speaker 3: Opportunity to really go and build something that we could all be proud of. And we think about things from a media first standpoint, you know, live prime time but also creating moments that live on social media in other places after that live primetime broadcast is over.
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Speaker 2: So with that first initial meeting and call from the NFL, was it we want to find a partner to do this with and this is our idea, or it was just hey, we like what you guys are doing in the TGL, and we want to see what you guys would create with this.
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Speaker 8: Yeah, it was it was a little of both.
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Speaker 6: It.
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Speaker 3: We have a vision for creating a professional flag football league, but we want to hear your vision and how you would bring it to life. And I think in a lot of ways it was a really good kind of melding of experiences from where the NFL has come and investing significant, significant resources over the last decade plus in building flag football league.
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Speaker 8: So it's building flag football.
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Speaker 3: So there is a there's a real infrastructure in place, there's high school, there's now college. All of that exists. So really what we were doing is coming in and now putting something at the top of the pyramid where the pro league for the kids that came up through youth and played in high school and played in college, they now had a place to play.
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Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: So when you're looking at what you guys would want to do with the league, what what they already did with youth and high school, Like you were saying, how do you look at what they do there and what.
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Speaker 6: It looks like there to what it could look like for you guys creating.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think now what it will look like when the pro League launches is you've got a complete ecosystem, just like any other sport. You know, a kid can start playing this sport at a very young age, and they can grow and they can play competitively. They can then play in high school for a high school state championship.
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Speaker 8: They can then get recruited and go play.
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Speaker 3: In for a scholar for a college scholarship and play for a national championship.
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Speaker 8: Then they can go to a combine.
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Speaker 3: To get drafted, go to training camp, and then make a team in the Pro League and make a career out of it, and then every four years they can go represent their country in the Olympics. So a lot of it is the successful pathways that exist in all of these other sports that are incredibly popular and incredibly successful now exists for flag football.
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Speaker 2: The TDL obviously is when it launched, to have this idea to be very technological, really innovative. How do you bring that or do you imagine bringing that to flag football?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we have things that we see, I mean I watch sports very differently. You know, how do we demystify this sport and translate it to an audience at home? Who may or may not understand some of the nuances of the sport, and technology is part of it, but we never want to create technology for technology's sake. We really it needs to be doing something to help educate the viewer, because we believe that if a fan is a bit more educated about that sport or the nuance of that sport, they're going but it's going to become a smarter, more intelligent, more educated fan, and they're going to appreciate the sport more, which means they're going to continue to watch and engage and tell their friends about it.
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Speaker 8: Yeah.
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Speaker 2: So have you figured out what the model will look like for you guys? How many teams, how many players will be involved?
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we're working through a lot of those details now. I think the great news is there's a ton of great talent who are already playing this sport. And it seems like every week we hear about, you know, someone who has now left another sport and come and started to play flag football because.
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Speaker 8: Of the opportunities that are in the sport.
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Speaker 3: And I think we're going to see more and more of that as the monimentum continues to build.
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Speaker 2: Wasn't I wish it was around when I was in high school and I I love soccer, but I feel like I would have loved to Yeah, obviously you talked about it being in the Olympics and you'll be launching before you know, the twenty twenty eight Olympics. Tell me about the strategy of doing that and being before it comes to the Olympics instead of after.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's there's a lot one. The athletes are here and they're ready to go. Now it's can we build this great prime time stage to showcase this awesome game and where they can showcase their skills. I think doing it in advance of the Olympics. You want to make sure that all of this infrastructure is in place. The Olympics will be a huge catalyst. But I think what what the NFL has really put in place and what's been existing in flag football now is there and the Olympics should really be an accelerant to all the momentum that's already happened.
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Speaker 6: Well, it look the same for you guys as it does in the Olympics. Do you think, like rule structure.
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Speaker 3: Wise, I don't know, it look the same exactly. I think you know, the the bones are there, for what is a great sport. You know, in the Olympics, you're you know, it's country based, you know, and I think the level of talent depending on the country. You've got some country, you know, some top level countries that are that are.
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Speaker 8: Really really good.
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Speaker 3: And I think what's what will happen over time is the great democratization of the sport where you'll have more and more talent who flocked to this sport, who represent their country at the Olympics. And I think you'll start to see, you know, a lot more competitiveness all around the world, not just not just in you know some of the countries that are good right now.
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Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, one of the points you made in before was the athletes that are leaving other sports to come play flag football. What are those athletes look like? I know because I know I was talking to someone earlier about you guys don't want this to be a g league for the NFL, right, It's It's a totally different sport with people with different skill sets.
00:24:00
Speaker 6: Yeah.
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Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing you want fans to take away is these are the best athletes in the world at this sport and this is a unique sport. It's not, you know, it is a lot of the rules are the same. It's a football that they're playing with, but you watch it is it is. It is different in so many ways. You have basketball players that have come over, you have volleyball players that come over, you have track athletes that have come over. And I think you'll start to see a lot of these athletes from other sports that you see the opportunity not just compete for a college scholarship and ultimately be able to play professionally, but I think they also just have a lot of fun.
00:24:43
Speaker 8: Yeah, because I mean, it is a really fun sport when you play it.
00:24:45
Speaker 6: For sure.
00:24:47
Speaker 2: One of the biggest you know, implications that this could have is on women's sports and women's flag football. Do you imagine this could be one of the biggest women's sports almost instantaneously given the audience for football.
00:25:00
Speaker 3: I do.
00:25:00
Speaker 8: I think it can happen very fast, you know. I think part of it is if you look.
00:25:06
Speaker 3: Back at the decades of building some of the best women's leagues in the world. Now, so much of what they did laid the groundwork to be able to execute on something a little bit faster than what you did twenty years ago, thirty years ago, maybe real flag football families who are educated on the sport and there's a built in fan base that you can reach.
00:25:29
Speaker 8: From day one.
00:25:30
Speaker 7: That was tomorrow Sports CEO and co founder Mike McCarley.
00:25:33
Speaker 2: Up next, we're sticking with flag football and speaking with one of the future stars of the sport.
00:25:37
Speaker 5: That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barb with Vanessa Perdomo, Magleone and Randon Williams. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberg Radio around the world.
00:25:52
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
00:25:57
Speaker 5: Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports to explore the big money issues in the world of sports. Side michae Lebarn.
00:26:03
Speaker 2: I'm Bennesa Prodoma Maglan and No I'm Miranda Williams.
00:26:06
Speaker 5: Professional flag football is set to make it start next year under a partnership with the NFL and it has that with Tomorrow's Sports. They are looking to debut before the Olympics in order to capitalize on the hype that goes into and will come out of the game.
00:26:21
Speaker 7: And what's going to be special about it is that NFL players will be able to participate, but at the same time, there are also professional flag football players, so there's no guarantee that you're going to see Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson or Tyreek Hill and so many more players because they will be in competition with the real pro flag football players later on in the next couple of years.
00:26:43
Speaker 2: Flag football being added to the Olympics and a professional league being started is the biggest opportunity for female athletes we've seen to get into the sport of football, not just as a fan but as a player. I think it has the potential to be on par with the WNBA and NWSL in just a few short years. I recently spoke with one of the rising stars in the sport, Ashley Clam, who plays on the US national team and was just announced as the ambassador for the Tomorrow Sports Flag Football League, and.
00:27:08
Speaker 5: She's very good. Let's take a listen to Vanessa's conversation with flag football star Ashley Clam.
00:27:13
Speaker 2: You've been playing for a long time, yes, is it? You started your because your parents started a team for you.
00:27:19
Speaker 9: So I started because of my older brother.
00:27:22
Speaker 10: I've always been very competitive and anything any sport that he did, I also wanted to play.
00:27:27
Speaker 9: I wanted to be better than him, added and so he started playing flag football.
00:27:31
Speaker 10: And I have this picture of me on the sideline as a little cheerleader in my Texans outfit, and it's just those like those moments where I remember wanting to be on the field, not wanting to be on the sideline, you know, I wanted to be on the field.
00:27:46
Speaker 9: I wanted to be playing football, and anything that my brother did, I wanted to do.
00:27:51
Speaker 10: And so I went to my parents and at the time, you know, there was not really any girls playing flag football, and so when I told them I wanted to play, you would expect a Texas family be like, that's you know, tackle is for boys. Football is for boys. Women don't belong there. Whatever, my parents were full and they were like, okay, absolutely, Like let's create a team for our NFL flag team or our league.
00:28:13
Speaker 9: And so ever since then, my parents have been one step.
00:28:17
Speaker 10: Ahead of everyone else on creating opportunities for me to play flag football. And so once I, you know, kind of aged out of the NFL flag leagues and everything like that, then that's when my parents and I realized that there really was a true opportunity, and so ever since then, my parents created you know, Texas Fury, which is one of the largest and most successful all gross flag football organizations. And so I always say, my parents knew that it wasn't there for me, so they built it. And that's something why I love being at the forefront of these opportunities because it speaks to what my parents did for me. Like I want to be a part of the opportunities that are building experiences and building something for the younger generation because my parents built it for me. So that's kind of you know, a long story short my story in flag football.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: That's really incredible. So you've had it from innate in yourself. I will be an ambassador for the sport. I really want to make it happen. So that goes into your Now you're an ambassador for the professional league. Could you have imagined that when you started playing there would be professionally for you to be.
00:29:28
Speaker 10: No, I mean I cannot even imagine telling my younger self, my seven year old self with little pigtails, pink pigtails in her hair, Like I could not imagine saying you are an ambassador for the professional league, or you have dreams of playing in the Olympics, you now have the potential of being on a professional contract to play flag football, or even like you have the opportunity to play D one. Now there are so many things in the past five years that flag football has just expanded into.
00:29:58
Speaker 9: And it's so funny.
00:30:00
Speaker 10: Someone told me, what a time to be good at football, and that is so accurate, What a time to be good at football, because there are so many flag football players prior to me, But now that people are starting to give it the respect that it deserves, I'm able to kind of, you know, represent this score and show the younger generation that this is an avid avenue that you can do. And I think back to my sophomore year of high school, sitting in my dining room table.
00:30:26
Speaker 9: I was completely swamped.
00:30:28
Speaker 6: I was so busy.
00:30:29
Speaker 9: I was playing volleyball at the national level, of volleyball at the national level.
00:30:32
Speaker 10: During my high school volleyball, I did track and field flag football, I was also acting.
00:30:37
Speaker 9: It was so much on my plate.
00:30:39
Speaker 10: And at that point my sophomore year, you know, you kind of have to decide what do you want to do for your future? Where do you want to pursue what do you want to pursue? And at the time, flag football wasn't really even in the conversation. But my family and I believed in what this sport could do, and we believed that if I don't take.
00:30:58
Speaker 9: This jump, and who else will you know?
00:31:00
Speaker 10: And so it's kind of like we saw what people are seeing now, right, and we saw that years ago, and so now that people are starting to see that, and now that people are starting to really respect flag football and putting, you know, money and time and resources into this sport, I just want to say to my sophomore year self, like it freaking works, like the leap of faith worked, and it's everything that I It's everything I could have imagined and war Yeah.
00:31:29
Speaker 6: So, I mean, what was your first reaction when you heard it was gonna be an Olympics?
00:31:32
Speaker 8: Then?
00:31:32
Speaker 9: Oh my gosh.
00:31:33
Speaker 10: I So I was in West Palm Beach, Florida at my college, and my parents and I we knew that there was talks of it being in the Olympics. We didn't know the full vote yet, but I actually flew down the weekend that it was announced. I flew down to Austin because my parents and I talked through my parents talked at the UIL meeting to try and sanction flag football in Texas. So this was four three, four years ago, three years ago, and so we I was already in Austin, and I remember waking up and seeing the notification on my phone and just in disbelief, in disbelief that all of those hours that you know, I've been putting in for this sport, all of the time and money that we put in to make sure that I'm getting noticed by all of these you know, collegiate coaches or the USA coaches, knowing that all of it like paid off, and especially like my parents, they have done so much for this sport. They created an all girls flag footle organization that came from ten players to fifteen teams now, so it's grown tremendously. And that's not like their nonprofit. They're not making money out of this. All of the coaches, they don't make money. And so knowing that everything that we have done to get to that moment mattered, and everyone saw what the sport was, it was the best feeling.
00:32:51
Speaker 6: In the entire worlds that's amazing.
00:32:52
Speaker 2: I mean, so you guys saw the trends, so early on, and then having it in the Olympics, and not just being in the Olympics, but being in the Olympics in the US.
00:32:59
Speaker 10: Yes, I mean having the home field advantage is going to be phenomenal. I mean thinking of you know, I've traveled the world to play flag football and a lot of the places are pretty expensive to travel to, and so being able to think that my family could potentially afford going to the Olympics and being able to you know, you're not spending thousands of dollars on a flight.
00:33:25
Speaker 9: It's it's going to be expensive.
00:33:26
Speaker 10: Of course it's the Olympics, but it's just so much more affordable, and especially it being on home turf. I think just being able to envision looking up to the stands and seeing my entire family, you know, my parents of course, my brother, his fiance, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my grandparents. Their support system is what leads me to everything that I am able to do. And so if I have the potential of playing for the Olympics, it is because of them. It is because of their constant support and their constant want to make me, you know, their constant want.
00:34:00
Speaker 9: To make me succeed.
00:34:03
Speaker 10: In this sport and all of that leads to them and so being able to even like think about looking up to them and seeing their faces in the stands.
00:34:10
Speaker 9: It's for me, it is just it's it's crazy to even think about.
00:34:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like your parents need to be part of the professional league, something, your coaches or something. I mean, I mean, they would be incredible to see. So tell me more about like just being an advocate for young girls in the sport. I mean, I feel like this is going to change for sure women's sports.
00:34:33
Speaker 10: Yeah, no, absolutely, I mean growing up I always had to and this was for every athlete who's on the women's national team. Now, we always had to look up to tackle players or you know, female athletes who are in different sports. We never really got to look up to flag football players. And it's not because they weren't there.
00:34:50
Speaker 9: It's because they weren't being supported or they weren't being showed.
00:34:54
Speaker 10: And so now the possibility of me being a role model to a younger girl and me being a face for them to see and think if she can do it, I can do it too, And that's you know, representation really matters, and I think that's what's also so important for the professional league is that this is going to be played you know, monthly, weekly, daily, is going to be played out so that people can actually see what a flag football player looks like, and they can see that they're female, they can see that they are It's a diverse sport.
00:35:28
Speaker 9: You don't have to be six foot to be looked at. You can be I mean, my our linebacker, Daliah Autry, she is a phenomenal human.
00:35:38
Speaker 10: Being and she is this like I think she's five to three maybe, and so it's like whenever I was playing volleyball growing up, I kind of knew that I never had a future there because I was never gonna get looked at because I wasn't six foot tall. And so now for flag football, you don't have to be a certain height, you don't have to be you know, a certain speed, you have to be a certain gender. It is such a diverse one and I think that's what's so magical, magical because every single young girl can look up and see someone that looks like them playing this.
00:36:07
Speaker 2: For yeah, oh my god, amazing. I also saw that you were part of the under Armer campaign. The looks were incredible, the whole you know, creative behind.
00:36:16
Speaker 6: It was really cool. Tell me about that.
00:36:18
Speaker 10: I mean, I think something that was so special is that they set the standard at that time, you know, seventy two and Sonny has put out two super Bowl commercials, and so those were absolutely phenomenal. I mean that's I think back of watching Deanna Flores in the first sept and Sonny an NFL Super Bowl commercial on.
00:36:38
Speaker 9: Flag football, and I remember exactly where I was. I was with my quarterback and I was with my other.
00:36:43
Speaker 10: Like teammate, and seeing it, we thought that it was an actual interview and so we're like, oh my gosh, like we know her, like you didn't really play against her, we played with her, Like this is so crazy. She's our friend, our teammate, our rival. And whenever we saw her and then the whole commercial started, I just was in tears. The tears because it was like that set the standard of what we were able to dream of, what we were able to like ever since then, I never even had thoughts or the possibility of being in a super Bowl commercial. And then two years later they do it and I'm in a super Bowl commercial. So it's like things like that, Seeing that made me believe I could achieve it.
00:37:22
Speaker 9: Which made me achieve it in the future.
00:37:25
Speaker 10: And so when Underarmor did that entire campaign, it set the standards to brands that hey, you are going to get left behind if you are not putting your money and your resources into flag football. And ever since then, I know, Adidas has come out with a spot, Nike just came out with a spot.
00:37:43
Speaker 9: So many brands are coming out.
00:37:45
Speaker 10: With spots and signing flag football athletes because now that's the standard.
00:37:49
Speaker 9: It's no longer just like, oh well, this brand is doing it. They're taking a leap of faith.
00:37:55
Speaker 10: It's no longer that they're actual brand to see it as good business. And I think that that specific campaign really helped people.
00:38:04
Speaker 9: And companies see that.
00:38:05
Speaker 6: Yeah, Dinah Floor's commercial is one of the greatest things. It is everyone.
00:38:09
Speaker 9: I'm still like, yeah, we just played it in our meeting.
00:38:12
Speaker 10: I get goosebumps every single time because it is so passionate and you can actually see the emotions.
00:38:18
Speaker 6: Yep.
00:38:18
Speaker 7: That was US national team flag football player Ashley clam.
00:38:22
Speaker 5: That's it for today. Thank you for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big old money. I'm not talking about that little coin stuff. I'm talking big old money in the world of.
00:38:32
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00:38:42
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Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News. This is the business of sports.
00:00:10
Speaker 2: Our aim is always to leverage the global appeal of football.
00:00:14
Speaker 3: Having representation in college sports is even more important than pro ten percent of Americans now Clay sokup to be that favorite sport.
00:00:22
Speaker 1: We estimate the U sports audience has three trillion dollars in spending power.
00:00:27
Speaker 4: The nature of baseball is, it is worldwide and it is Flora.
00:00:31
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00:00:36
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00:00:39
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00:00:42
Speaker 1: Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
00:00:47
Speaker 5: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports, where we explore the big money issues wor old with sports.
00:00:52
Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr, I'm Vanessa Prudoma Maglion, and I'm Randa Williams.
00:00:55
Speaker 5: Vanessa is back from France and came back with some great conversation.
00:01:00
Speaker 2: Yes, I was at the can Line International Festival of Creativity in France and got the chance to catch up with a lot of athletes and executives in the sports world. While the World Cup is the biggest thing right now, a lot of my conversations were looking ahead to some of the next big events in sports. You hear a little of my conversation with Tomorrow Sports CEO Mike McCarley and pro flag football player Ashley Klamm, who are both working to push the sport to new heights.
00:01:25
Speaker 5: All that on the way, but we start with some of the big headlines in the world of sports this week, starting with hmm, what's on everybody's mind? And hmm, what is Vanessa thinking about right now?
00:01:38
Speaker 6: Oh?
00:01:38
Speaker 5: Yes, the US moving on in the World Cup.
00:01:41
Speaker 2: I won't stop thinking about this until Monday, and I won't get over it. I don't think ever unless the men actually end up going through. The US men are going through, which is really exciting. But flow Ballagan getting the red card and not being available for the round of sixteen a game against Belgium, I think it's bad.
00:02:00
Speaker 7: I think it's bad the fact that there's no appeal system to some of these things, like the accidental contact. I understand what they were explaining on the broadcast about how you know he could have broken his ankle. Then that's why the result is the result. However, missing the next match for it, Like if he has to sit out for one match, fine, like the rest of it, but the next match that's so harsh.
00:02:18
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's this horrible system, especially like with the World Cup, right, I mean it's this is what happens in tournaments. You get a red card, you you know, you sit out the next game. But when you look at the play and you look at the slow motion, is the reason why he got the red card, right, it's the slow motion of it all, and it's the still image that you literally can't say, yes, it kind of looks like he was breaking his ankle. But at the same time, when you watch the play outright, it was absolutely accidental. It wasn't on purpose, it wasn't violent, and I think it has a huge implication for for what the us Men can do in the next round.
00:02:53
Speaker 7: Yeah, it's to me, I'm like, if this was a dirty play, the person would have the exact same result, The would be the exact same They would still be suspended for the next match. But the fact that this accidental contact is like, all right, Like, if this was a careless action, let him sit for the rest of the match. We just saw Lionel Messi do something very similar, but the fact that he's the goat is the reason why I think that that didn't happen, because you have a hard time explaining to broadcasters and sponsors that Messi isn't playing for something that was accidental. But the US is obviously not Lionel Messi.
00:03:25
Speaker 5: And if we're going to go old school, yeah, because I'm going football, then you need to throw Lawrence Taylor out big time because of the accident. It was an accident against Joe Feisman. I saw that. I was like, oh gosh, and it's like, you know, and of course mister Taylor played you know, the next play, and it's like and nothing against Lawrence Taylor at all. It was it was an accident, would happened. But that's my point is, look, that was an accident, and we're going to lose the guy now, you know, for the next match.
00:03:58
Speaker 7: I think the bigger thing is just needs to be an appeal system, because there's a difference between a dirty play and an accidental play, and that was the line was not blurred in the match between the US and their opponent, and.
00:04:12
Speaker 2: Let's make sure we lay that out exactly. Because people were asking, maybe is there a potential, you know, appeal process. People online were trying to understand if there was, but FIFA has laid out in their rules and did confirm to the Athletic late during the week that it was that there is no appeal process. There is no appeal process and they can't do anything about it. And this is why var sometimes shouldn't be used in these instances. It's supposed to be used for aggressive acts and this was not an aggressive act.
00:04:43
Speaker 7: I think the bigger thing for me is that if we remember this tournament long term, what is going to be the legacy of the twenty twenty six World Cup In the host nations. It's like Mexico has been having a ball.
00:04:53
Speaker 2: And they I want to be in Mexico City right now, so bad.
00:04:57
Speaker 7: Mexico has been having a ball, Canada has been performing well, in the US has been performing well. So now you have three host countries doing very well, and obviously with the US hosting the most matches for them to then have one of their best players not be able to play in the most important match, and granted, like the US team is still in good condition to be able to compete against Belgium. But if you take someone like Lukaku off of Belgium, I'm sure Belgium would be complaining as well. And I would hate for this to happen for any of the teams. I know that we're all you know, we all live here and so we feel closer to this, but it shouldn't happen across the board. There should be an appeal process.
00:05:31
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree, and you can't. It's in these tournaments. It just unless it was egregious, you shouldn't be taking the best players or the most aggressive players or whatever it is, off of the teams because it's it's simply not the way you want to win. And then let's just do another round up there. That England also came back from a one nothing win. I mean they were I mean they came back from one nothing to win two to one because a Harry Kane is absolutely out of his mind right now.
00:06:01
Speaker 5: I'm listening to the to the match and all of a sudden, it's like they're down by the goal already is like whoa, It's like I had money on.
00:06:11
Speaker 2: That and the Dr Congo was playing incredible.
00:06:15
Speaker 7: The goalie is playing out of his mind.
00:06:16
Speaker 2: I also have England to win, so I should have been excited, but I just feel like Congo was playing so well. I love a goalkeeper. We all know this. I was a goalkeeper. I love a goalkeeper performance so imposse. I just feel like he deserved it.
00:06:29
Speaker 7: It is a bit unfortunate that it feels like all of the African countries participating in the World Cup have received the same script. Yes, like they play phenomenal for ninety three percent of the match, and that's seven percent that they don't play phenomenal they lose.
00:06:44
Speaker 2: Let's talk about Senegal and Belgium there for a second. Then that's what you're talking about. Senegal is winning two nothing with eighty four minutes and somehow and they lose three to two. I also hate like a late in the game penalty kick. I just can't get on board with that. But that's enough on the World Cup. Even though I couldn't literally talk about it all day, all day.
00:07:08
Speaker 5: I can see we got to talk about Serena Williams, forty four years old, return to the first play at Wimbledon in almost four years. And before that happened, John McEnroe, the great tennis star, talked about h I wonder what Serena's going to do.
00:07:30
Speaker 4: This is just Serena being Serena, deciding to come back play her first tournament in singles here at Wimbledon, where she dominated for so many years. It's been four years since she played a singles match. That was twenty twenty two at the US Open.
00:07:43
Speaker 8: Can she win it?
00:07:44
Speaker 4: I would say that's a stretch right now in her first tournament back, but they're sure is tremendous amount of buzz just to see her back on the court. She'll also be playing doubles with big sister Venus.
00:07:55
Speaker 5: And now we know obviously that she lost, and she did not attend the press conference. It's supposed to be mandatory, but she didn't attend it. And the reason why is that apparently she suffered a knee injury and that may have given her a pass on not getting a fine. Of why she did not attend the press conference.
00:08:19
Speaker 7: One of the things that I'm mindful of when our legendary athletes get older is just not everyone is going to be able to perform at their highest level forever. We are in this era where we've seen Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers and Lebron and Steph Curry and Kevin Durant all transcend time and space in terms of their productivity on the court and on the field. And I think Serena is still the most dominant female tennis player of my lifetime. And I think this is a tall task for her to come back, and it's exciting to have her in the sport. The sport is better within it, But I also think that the sport is better when she's victorious and when she's competitive. And I don't ever want to see anyone go out where it's just like they're out there and they're just losing and losing. It's like a boxer.
00:09:04
Speaker 2: I think the interesting thing there, too, is when she did retire four years ago, she was still really competitive and maybe that's why she felt like she could come back in this way and still be competitive. But forty four is very different. That's very you know, a good amount of time that passed without being on the tour. I just think it's tough.
00:09:25
Speaker 5: And by the way, before we move on to the next topic, she lost to Maya Joint who's twenty. I got to give it up for a Serena. You're forty four, You're playing a twenty year old.
00:09:35
Speaker 2: Hey, and give it up to my joint as well. She had the composure to be out there with a legend.
00:09:41
Speaker 5: Now talk about blockbuster in the NBA. What man, I don't even know where to begin, but okay, first let's start with Lebron James. Lebron says, you know what, Lakers, it's been real, but I got to split, and so be it. So you talk about being strong, now, you gotta explain this, man.
00:10:04
Speaker 7: The reason I say so be it is because Lebron I think revived the Lakers brand after Kobe left, and I don't think he's ever gotten enough credit just because of the fact that his championship was in the pandemic. He was not in control of that, and then you have people calling it a Mickey Mouse championship. They never got a parade, and really, from an ownership level and from a management level, Lakers management has mismanaged the entire team from the moment that that twenty twenty championship was won. And so since then, I think he's done as much as he could. Now there are going to be fans out there that are going to say that he could have taken a pay cut, yes, but he was still playing at an elite level, So why would you take a pay cut, especially at the later years of your career when you're going this is probably gonna be one of the only times you're making sixty million that's guaranteed on the court. And so I don't think the Lakers organization truly appreciated him for what he was, just because their superstars of the pass were different. And with that being said, I think in this last chapter des to go wherever he wants he wants and hopefully compete for a championship legitimately this time.
00:11:06
Speaker 5: Which brings us now, speaking of the NBA, mister Bob Iger and mister Joshua Kushner, they're talking about going into an NBA expansion team.
00:11:19
Speaker 2: Well, who doesn't want this Vegas team? Randall and tell us is this real?
00:11:23
Speaker 7: I'll tell you, I am skeptical of all bids so far, just because of the fact that there are two people across the NBA expansion that have announced that they are interested. Number one is Samantha Holloway in Seattle. She's been expressing interest for years. And then we have Bill Foley, who owns the Vegas Golden Knights in the NHL. He also controls Team Mobile Arena, which is where a Vegas NBA team would play if he were to win it. Everybody else I'm like, okay, we'll see. Because of the fact that it's not bidding time yet, the NBA is still canvassing the landscape. They've hired PJD excuse me, they've hired PJT Partners to run this process, and they also have not committed to expanding yet. Adam Silver said he expects a decision by the end of the year, and so anybody can raise their hand and say that they're interested, but ultimately we will find out who's interested in who's not. I would expect by the end of August at the very latest. And so if Bob Iger and Josh Kushner are interested, we'll find out in the months to come. Josh has also acquired a piece of the San Francisco Giants. He's a part owner of the Miami Heat, so he does have experience. But this Vegas expansion team is going to go for a lot of money.
00:12:34
Speaker 5: Oh man, Vanessa, we got to get back to your interviews best.
00:12:38
Speaker 2: We got to get back to it, you know. So up next we'll be talking to Tomorrow Sports CEO about the new professional flag football league they are building with the NFL.
00:12:49
Speaker 5: Is straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. For Vanessa Perimbo mac Leone and Randon Williams. I'm like, why are you are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
00:12:59
Speaker 1: Around This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
00:13:09
Speaker 5: This is the Bloomberg Business of Sports where we explore the big money issues in the world of sports.
00:13:14
Speaker 2: I'm Michael Barr, I'm going to Superdomo Maglione, and I'm Randa Williams.
00:13:18
Speaker 5: After the World Cup is over. No, the next big international tournament is the US hosting the twenty twenty eight LA Olympics, and one of the sports that will be added for the first time is flag football. Randall, You've done a lot of reporting on the subject. Tell us about the landscape of the sport right now.
00:13:38
Speaker 7: I am bullish on specifically women's flag football. I think that sport is electric. I think that it could be very popular very quickly, and so the NFL has been investing in this for many years. I believe the first press release I read about the NFL's investment in flag football probably dates back to twenty eighteen or twenty seventeen, so they've long been involved than this. But last year they announced that they were going to be looking at different bids from different partners, and they ultimately decided on Tomorrow's Sports who's going to be running the process, Vanessa, you recently spoke with Tomorrow's Sports CEO Mike mccartley while in can did he tell you any more about what we can expect from the league.
00:14:17
Speaker 2: He told me they're really trying to sort through all the details right now, what their version of the sport's going to be, how many teams there's going to be, But they are full steam ahead to start next year. I think the interesting thing that we spoke about was how they weren't sure what the sport would be and look like as a professional property until the NFL stepped in.
00:14:36
Speaker 7: And the reason for that is because the NFL is a money printing machine, and so when they say we're in, everyone's in.
00:14:43
Speaker 5: I was going to say, the NFL, that's the big dog of the sports food groups. That's not a bad partner to have when building up a new football league. Let's take a listen to Vanessa's conversation with Tomorrow's Sports CEO and co founder Mike McCurley.
00:14:58
Speaker 8: There's a ton of interest around this sport.
00:15:00
Speaker 3: I mean, I think, as you know, everyone sees what's happening within flag football and the momentum behind it youth, high school, college, now and now pro with the Olympic debut coming up in twenty eight and Ashley clam who we've got to know over the past several months one of the real up and coming stars of the sport most likely will be one of the best on the Olympic team for the Team USA leading into the Olympics in LA And.
00:15:29
Speaker 8: She's just been.
00:15:31
Speaker 3: A really good advocate and a good voice in the room as we've started talking to players. She has a great story to tell. I'll let her tell her story, but exactly what she had to do and what her family had to do to find her a place to play because she wanted to be that role model. And now what we're creating and what we're building is something that you know, kids in this country and all around the world can now have professional league that they can look up to and ultimately dream to play in that league, not just dream to play college or the Olympics. But they can also make a living playing flag football.
00:16:12
Speaker 2: Right, absolutely, So, yeah, let's take a step back and talk a little bit about that and just about the launching of it. Obviously, like with Tomorrow, you guys have been so focused on launching the TV over the last few years. So when did you start noticing this trend in flag football.
00:16:26
Speaker 3: We had a few investors come to us and ask us about flag football a couple of years ago, and we looked at it and frankly, the sport of football is so dominant, so powerful in this country. It was really attractive to us, but we did we couldn't really see you know, really getting to the next level.
00:16:50
Speaker 8: With the sport, with the stars of the sport.
00:16:52
Speaker 3: You know, how are you really going to promote it, How are you going to get the megaphone?
00:16:55
Speaker 8: How are you going to make sure this is lasting?
00:16:58
Speaker 3: And then we got a phone call from the NFL and you know, asking us if we wanted to come and talk to them about building a professional flag football league. And you know, when the NFL calls, you listen. My history with the Olympics and then also with the NFL, you know kind of brings all of these things together for what this potentially could be. And you know that, you know, with the NFL's backing, the likelihood and chances of success go up significantly. So we really liked what they were saying to us, and then we came back to them with the vision of creating something that's really thinking about, you know, building a professional sports league and in this time, how would you do it? And in a lot of ways it's a complete blake campus. I mean, how many chances are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch? And then how many times are you actually going to be able to create a sports league from scratch With the NFL as your partner.
00:18:00
Speaker 8: It was a little bit of a once in a lifetime.
00:18:02
Speaker 3: Opportunity to really go and build something that we could all be proud of. And we think about things from a media first standpoint, you know, live prime time but also creating moments that live on social media in other places after that live primetime broadcast is over.
00:18:19
Speaker 2: So with that first initial meeting and call from the NFL, was it we want to find a partner to do this with and this is our idea, or it was just hey, we like what you guys are doing in the TGL, and we want to see what you guys would create with this.
00:18:34
Speaker 8: Yeah, it was it was a little of both.
00:18:36
Speaker 6: It.
00:18:36
Speaker 3: We have a vision for creating a professional flag football league, but we want to hear your vision and how you would bring it to life. And I think in a lot of ways it was a really good kind of melding of experiences from where the NFL has come and investing significant, significant resources over the last decade plus in building flag football league.
00:19:00
Speaker 8: So it's building flag football.
00:19:02
Speaker 3: So there is a there's a real infrastructure in place, there's high school, there's now college. All of that exists. So really what we were doing is coming in and now putting something at the top of the pyramid where the pro league for the kids that came up through youth and played in high school and played in college, they now had a place to play.
00:19:23
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:19:23
Speaker 2: So when you're looking at what you guys would want to do with the league, what what they already did with youth and high school, Like you were saying, how do you look at what they do there and what.
00:19:34
Speaker 6: It looks like there to what it could look like for you guys creating.
00:19:37
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think now what it will look like when the pro League launches is you've got a complete ecosystem, just like any other sport. You know, a kid can start playing this sport at a very young age, and they can grow and they can play competitively. They can then play in high school for a high school state championship.
00:19:57
Speaker 8: They can then get recruited and go play.
00:19:59
Speaker 3: In for a scholar for a college scholarship and play for a national championship.
00:20:05
Speaker 8: Then they can go to a combine.
00:20:09
Speaker 3: To get drafted, go to training camp, and then make a team in the Pro League and make a career out of it, and then every four years they can go represent their country in the Olympics. So a lot of it is the successful pathways that exist in all of these other sports that are incredibly popular and incredibly successful now exists for flag football.
00:20:29
Speaker 2: The TDL obviously is when it launched, to have this idea to be very technological, really innovative. How do you bring that or do you imagine bringing that to flag football?
00:20:40
Speaker 3: Yeah, we have things that we see, I mean I watch sports very differently. You know, how do we demystify this sport and translate it to an audience at home? Who may or may not understand some of the nuances of the sport, and technology is part of it, but we never want to create technology for technology's sake. We really it needs to be doing something to help educate the viewer, because we believe that if a fan is a bit more educated about that sport or the nuance of that sport, they're going but it's going to become a smarter, more intelligent, more educated fan, and they're going to appreciate the sport more, which means they're going to continue to watch and engage and tell their friends about it.
00:21:25
Speaker 8: Yeah.
00:21:25
Speaker 2: So have you figured out what the model will look like for you guys? How many teams, how many players will be involved?
00:21:32
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're working through a lot of those details now. I think the great news is there's a ton of great talent who are already playing this sport. And it seems like every week we hear about, you know, someone who has now left another sport and come and started to play flag football because.
00:21:50
Speaker 8: Of the opportunities that are in the sport.
00:21:52
Speaker 3: And I think we're going to see more and more of that as the monimentum continues to build.
00:21:56
Speaker 2: Wasn't I wish it was around when I was in high school and I I love soccer, but I feel like I would have loved to Yeah, obviously you talked about it being in the Olympics and you'll be launching before you know, the twenty twenty eight Olympics. Tell me about the strategy of doing that and being before it comes to the Olympics instead of after.
00:22:18
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think there's there's a lot one. The athletes are here and they're ready to go. Now it's can we build this great prime time stage to showcase this awesome game and where they can showcase their skills. I think doing it in advance of the Olympics. You want to make sure that all of this infrastructure is in place. The Olympics will be a huge catalyst. But I think what what the NFL has really put in place and what's been existing in flag football now is there and the Olympics should really be an accelerant to all the momentum that's already happened.
00:22:53
Speaker 6: Well, it look the same for you guys as it does in the Olympics. Do you think, like rule structure.
00:22:58
Speaker 3: Wise, I don't know, it look the same exactly. I think you know, the the bones are there, for what is a great sport. You know, in the Olympics, you're you know, it's country based, you know, and I think the level of talent depending on the country. You've got some country, you know, some top level countries that are that are.
00:23:20
Speaker 8: Really really good.
00:23:21
Speaker 3: And I think what's what will happen over time is the great democratization of the sport where you'll have more and more talent who flocked to this sport, who represent their country at the Olympics. And I think you'll start to see, you know, a lot more competitiveness all around the world, not just not just in you know some of the countries that are good right now.
00:23:40
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think you know, one of the points you made in before was the athletes that are leaving other sports to come play flag football. What are those athletes look like? I know because I know I was talking to someone earlier about you guys don't want this to be a g league for the NFL, right, It's It's a totally different sport with people with different skill sets.
00:24:00
Speaker 6: Yeah.
00:24:00
Speaker 3: I think the biggest thing you want fans to take away is these are the best athletes in the world at this sport and this is a unique sport. It's not, you know, it is a lot of the rules are the same. It's a football that they're playing with, but you watch it is it is. It is different in so many ways. You have basketball players that have come over, you have volleyball players that come over, you have track athletes that have come over. And I think you'll start to see a lot of these athletes from other sports that you see the opportunity not just compete for a college scholarship and ultimately be able to play professionally, but I think they also just have a lot of fun.
00:24:43
Speaker 8: Yeah, because I mean, it is a really fun sport when you play it.
00:24:45
Speaker 6: For sure.
00:24:47
Speaker 2: One of the biggest you know, implications that this could have is on women's sports and women's flag football. Do you imagine this could be one of the biggest women's sports almost instantaneously given the audience for football.
00:25:00
Speaker 3: I do.
00:25:00
Speaker 8: I think it can happen very fast, you know. I think part of it is if you look.
00:25:06
Speaker 3: Back at the decades of building some of the best women's leagues in the world. Now, so much of what they did laid the groundwork to be able to execute on something a little bit faster than what you did twenty years ago, thirty years ago, maybe real flag football families who are educated on the sport and there's a built in fan base that you can reach.
00:25:29
Speaker 8: From day one.
00:25:30
Speaker 7: That was tomorrow Sports CEO and co founder Mike McCarley.
00:25:33
Speaker 2: Up next, we're sticking with flag football and speaking with one of the future stars of the sport.
00:25:37
Speaker 5: That's straight ahead on the Bloomberg Business of Sports. I'm Michael Barb with Vanessa Perdomo, Magleone and Randon Williams. You are listening to the Bloomberg Business of Sports Bloomberg Radio around the world.
00:25:52
Speaker 1: This is Bloomberg Business of Sports from Bloomberg Radio.
00:25:57
Speaker 5: Thanks for joining us on the Bloomberg Business of Sports to explore the big money issues in the world of sports. Side michae Lebarn.
00:26:03
Speaker 2: I'm Bennesa Prodoma Maglan and No I'm Miranda Williams.
00:26:06
Speaker 5: Professional flag football is set to make it start next year under a partnership with the NFL and it has that with Tomorrow's Sports. They are looking to debut before the Olympics in order to capitalize on the hype that goes into and will come out of the game.
00:26:21
Speaker 7: And what's going to be special about it is that NFL players will be able to participate, but at the same time, there are also professional flag football players, so there's no guarantee that you're going to see Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson or Tyreek Hill and so many more players because they will be in competition with the real pro flag football players later on in the next couple of years.
00:26:43
Speaker 2: Flag football being added to the Olympics and a professional league being started is the biggest opportunity for female athletes we've seen to get into the sport of football, not just as a fan but as a player. I think it has the potential to be on par with the WNBA and NWSL in just a few short years. I recently spoke with one of the rising stars in the sport, Ashley Clam, who plays on the US national team and was just announced as the ambassador for the Tomorrow Sports Flag Football League, and.
00:27:08
Speaker 5: She's very good. Let's take a listen to Vanessa's conversation with flag football star Ashley Clam.
00:27:13
Speaker 2: You've been playing for a long time, yes, is it? You started your because your parents started a team for you.
00:27:19
Speaker 9: So I started because of my older brother.
00:27:22
Speaker 10: I've always been very competitive and anything any sport that he did, I also wanted to play.
00:27:27
Speaker 9: I wanted to be better than him, added and so he started playing flag football.
00:27:31
Speaker 10: And I have this picture of me on the sideline as a little cheerleader in my Texans outfit, and it's just those like those moments where I remember wanting to be on the field, not wanting to be on the sideline, you know, I wanted to be on the field.
00:27:46
Speaker 9: I wanted to be playing football, and anything that my brother did, I wanted to do.
00:27:51
Speaker 10: And so I went to my parents and at the time, you know, there was not really any girls playing flag football, and so when I told them I wanted to play, you would expect a Texas family be like, that's you know, tackle is for boys. Football is for boys. Women don't belong there. Whatever, my parents were full and they were like, okay, absolutely, Like let's create a team for our NFL flag team or our league.
00:28:13
Speaker 9: And so ever since then, my parents have been one step.
00:28:17
Speaker 10: Ahead of everyone else on creating opportunities for me to play flag football. And so once I, you know, kind of aged out of the NFL flag leagues and everything like that, then that's when my parents and I realized that there really was a true opportunity, and so ever since then, my parents created you know, Texas Fury, which is one of the largest and most successful all gross flag football organizations. And so I always say, my parents knew that it wasn't there for me, so they built it. And that's something why I love being at the forefront of these opportunities because it speaks to what my parents did for me. Like I want to be a part of the opportunities that are building experiences and building something for the younger generation because my parents built it for me. So that's kind of you know, a long story short my story in flag football.
00:29:10
Speaker 2: That's really incredible. So you've had it from innate in yourself. I will be an ambassador for the sport. I really want to make it happen. So that goes into your Now you're an ambassador for the professional league. Could you have imagined that when you started playing there would be professionally for you to be.
00:29:28
Speaker 10: No, I mean I cannot even imagine telling my younger self, my seven year old self with little pigtails, pink pigtails in her hair, Like I could not imagine saying you are an ambassador for the professional league, or you have dreams of playing in the Olympics, you now have the potential of being on a professional contract to play flag football, or even like you have the opportunity to play D one. Now there are so many things in the past five years that flag football has just expanded into.
00:29:58
Speaker 9: And it's so funny.
00:30:00
Speaker 10: Someone told me, what a time to be good at football, and that is so accurate, What a time to be good at football, because there are so many flag football players prior to me, But now that people are starting to give it the respect that it deserves, I'm able to kind of, you know, represent this score and show the younger generation that this is an avid avenue that you can do. And I think back to my sophomore year of high school, sitting in my dining room table.
00:30:26
Speaker 9: I was completely swamped.
00:30:28
Speaker 6: I was so busy.
00:30:29
Speaker 9: I was playing volleyball at the national level, of volleyball at the national level.
00:30:32
Speaker 10: During my high school volleyball, I did track and field flag football, I was also acting.
00:30:37
Speaker 9: It was so much on my plate.
00:30:39
Speaker 10: And at that point my sophomore year, you know, you kind of have to decide what do you want to do for your future? Where do you want to pursue what do you want to pursue? And at the time, flag football wasn't really even in the conversation. But my family and I believed in what this sport could do, and we believed that if I don't take.
00:30:58
Speaker 9: This jump, and who else will you know?
00:31:00
Speaker 10: And so it's kind of like we saw what people are seeing now, right, and we saw that years ago, and so now that people are starting to see that, and now that people are starting to really respect flag football and putting, you know, money and time and resources into this sport, I just want to say to my sophomore year self, like it freaking works, like the leap of faith worked, and it's everything that I It's everything I could have imagined and war Yeah.
00:31:29
Speaker 6: So, I mean, what was your first reaction when you heard it was gonna be an Olympics?
00:31:32
Speaker 8: Then?
00:31:32
Speaker 9: Oh my gosh.
00:31:33
Speaker 10: I So I was in West Palm Beach, Florida at my college, and my parents and I we knew that there was talks of it being in the Olympics. We didn't know the full vote yet, but I actually flew down the weekend that it was announced. I flew down to Austin because my parents and I talked through my parents talked at the UIL meeting to try and sanction flag football in Texas. So this was four three, four years ago, three years ago, and so we I was already in Austin, and I remember waking up and seeing the notification on my phone and just in disbelief, in disbelief that all of those hours that you know, I've been putting in for this sport, all of the time and money that we put in to make sure that I'm getting noticed by all of these you know, collegiate coaches or the USA coaches, knowing that all of it like paid off, and especially like my parents, they have done so much for this sport. They created an all girls flag footle organization that came from ten players to fifteen teams now, so it's grown tremendously. And that's not like their nonprofit. They're not making money out of this. All of the coaches, they don't make money. And so knowing that everything that we have done to get to that moment mattered, and everyone saw what the sport was, it was the best feeling.
00:32:51
Speaker 6: In the entire worlds that's amazing.
00:32:52
Speaker 2: I mean, so you guys saw the trends, so early on, and then having it in the Olympics, and not just being in the Olympics, but being in the Olympics in the US.
00:32:59
Speaker 10: Yes, I mean having the home field advantage is going to be phenomenal. I mean thinking of you know, I've traveled the world to play flag football and a lot of the places are pretty expensive to travel to, and so being able to think that my family could potentially afford going to the Olympics and being able to you know, you're not spending thousands of dollars on a flight.
00:33:25
Speaker 9: It's it's going to be expensive.
00:33:26
Speaker 10: Of course it's the Olympics, but it's just so much more affordable, and especially it being on home turf. I think just being able to envision looking up to the stands and seeing my entire family, you know, my parents of course, my brother, his fiance, my aunts, my uncles, my cousins, my grandparents. Their support system is what leads me to everything that I am able to do. And so if I have the potential of playing for the Olympics, it is because of them. It is because of their constant support and their constant want to make me, you know, their constant want.
00:34:00
Speaker 9: To make me succeed.
00:34:03
Speaker 10: In this sport and all of that leads to them and so being able to even like think about looking up to them and seeing their faces in the stands.
00:34:10
Speaker 9: It's for me, it is just it's it's crazy to even think about.
00:34:15
Speaker 2: Yeah, I feel like your parents need to be part of the professional league, something, your coaches or something. I mean, I mean, they would be incredible to see. So tell me more about like just being an advocate for young girls in the sport. I mean, I feel like this is going to change for sure women's sports.
00:34:33
Speaker 10: Yeah, no, absolutely, I mean growing up I always had to and this was for every athlete who's on the women's national team. Now, we always had to look up to tackle players or you know, female athletes who are in different sports. We never really got to look up to flag football players. And it's not because they weren't there.
00:34:50
Speaker 9: It's because they weren't being supported or they weren't being showed.
00:34:54
Speaker 10: And so now the possibility of me being a role model to a younger girl and me being a face for them to see and think if she can do it, I can do it too, And that's you know, representation really matters, and I think that's what's also so important for the professional league is that this is going to be played you know, monthly, weekly, daily, is going to be played out so that people can actually see what a flag football player looks like, and they can see that they're female, they can see that they are It's a diverse sport.
00:35:28
Speaker 9: You don't have to be six foot to be looked at. You can be I mean, my our linebacker, Daliah Autry, she is a phenomenal human.
00:35:38
Speaker 10: Being and she is this like I think she's five to three maybe, and so it's like whenever I was playing volleyball growing up, I kind of knew that I never had a future there because I was never gonna get looked at because I wasn't six foot tall. And so now for flag football, you don't have to be a certain height, you don't have to be you know, a certain speed, you have to be a certain gender. It is such a diverse one and I think that's what's so magical, magical because every single young girl can look up and see someone that looks like them playing this.
00:36:07
Speaker 2: For yeah, oh my god, amazing. I also saw that you were part of the under Armer campaign. The looks were incredible, the whole you know, creative behind.
00:36:16
Speaker 6: It was really cool. Tell me about that.
00:36:18
Speaker 10: I mean, I think something that was so special is that they set the standard at that time, you know, seventy two and Sonny has put out two super Bowl commercials, and so those were absolutely phenomenal. I mean that's I think back of watching Deanna Flores in the first sept and Sonny an NFL Super Bowl commercial on.
00:36:38
Speaker 9: Flag football, and I remember exactly where I was. I was with my quarterback and I was with my other.
00:36:43
Speaker 10: Like teammate, and seeing it, we thought that it was an actual interview and so we're like, oh my gosh, like we know her, like you didn't really play against her, we played with her, Like this is so crazy. She's our friend, our teammate, our rival. And whenever we saw her and then the whole commercial started, I just was in tears. The tears because it was like that set the standard of what we were able to dream of, what we were able to like ever since then, I never even had thoughts or the possibility of being in a super Bowl commercial. And then two years later they do it and I'm in a super Bowl commercial. So it's like things like that, Seeing that made me believe I could achieve it.
00:37:22
Speaker 9: Which made me achieve it in the future.
00:37:25
Speaker 10: And so when Underarmor did that entire campaign, it set the standards to brands that hey, you are going to get left behind if you are not putting your money and your resources into flag football. And ever since then, I know, Adidas has come out with a spot, Nike just came out with a spot.
00:37:43
Speaker 9: So many brands are coming out.
00:37:45
Speaker 10: With spots and signing flag football athletes because now that's the standard.
00:37:49
Speaker 9: It's no longer just like, oh well, this brand is doing it. They're taking a leap of faith.
00:37:55
Speaker 10: It's no longer that they're actual brand to see it as good business. And I think that that specific campaign really helped people.
00:38:04
Speaker 9: And companies see that.
00:38:05
Speaker 6: Yeah, Dinah Floor's commercial is one of the greatest things. It is everyone.
00:38:09
Speaker 9: I'm still like, yeah, we just played it in our meeting.
00:38:12
Speaker 10: I get goosebumps every single time because it is so passionate and you can actually see the emotions.
00:38:18
Speaker 6: Yep.
00:38:18
Speaker 7: That was US national team flag football player Ashley clam.
00:38:22
Speaker 5: That's it for today. Thank you for joining us. Tune in again next week for the latest on the stories moving big old money. I'm not talking about that little coin stuff. I'm talking big old money in the world of.
00:38:32
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00:38:42
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