During more than 20 years of her working at the NFL, Sam Rapoport blocked, tackled and rushed to create a pipeline for women interested in working in football. Why, she rightly wondered, did women represent nearly half the NFL fanbase, but a minuscule slice of its coaches, broadcasters and league employees? Rapoport started at the NFL as an intern, rose to become director of football development, and thanks to her efforts, innumerable women were hired by the league and its 32 teams. As she once told People, “Our goal is to normalize females on the sidelines.”
Now, Rapoport is moving in from the sidelines. A private sports consultant, she will serve as the commissioner of Grand Slam of Flag. (Michael Strahan, Pro Football Hall of Famer-turned-omnipresent television star, will serve as a founding partner.) In association with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF), the global governing body of flag football, Grand Slam of Flag will make its debut in Los Angeles in February 2027 during the week leading up to the Super Bowl, with the inaugural event set to include six of the top women’s national teams in the world—USA, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, Spain and China. The Slam will feature a $500,000 prize pool, the largest financial prize ever offered in women’s flag football.
