The U.S. men's national flag football team dominated both of its games at the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic on Saturday, March 21, 2026, at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, defeating Team Founders 43-16 and winning the championship against the Wildcats 24-14.
The NFL players on Teams Founders and Wildcats — which included active players such as Joe Burrow, Saquon Barkley, and Jalen Hurts — were consistently outmatched by the professional flag football athletes on Team USA throughout the round-robin tournament. Fox broadcaster Greg Olsen noted that the NFL players had only gone through a pair of "half-assed walkthroughs" in preparation.
Team USA's advantages were apparent from the start. The professional flag players demonstrated superior knowledge of flag football-specific rules, faster field reads, and execution under the modified format, while the NFL players struggled to adapt to the no-contact, no-pads environment in which flag football specialists train year-round.
The event was billed as a preview of flag football's Olympic debut at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles. Former players Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski participated as members of Team Founders, but Gronkowski exited early with a hamstring injury on the Founders' opening drive. Brady's team finished 0-2. The Classic was broadcast on FOX Sports, Tubi, and the Fanatics YouTube channel, and was hosted by Kevin Hart.
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