Flag vs. Tackle Football Youth Participation Data: 8% Growth in 2024

When Pop Warner’s youth program turns 100 years old in 2029, there’s a good chance that all its local league associations will be organizing flag football contests. Under new leadership, Pop Warner has signed a deal with NFL Flag to offer the pro league’s version of the game around the country, starting with a national championship played alongside the Pop Warner Super Bowl in December. New NFL Flag leagues will begin play under Pop Warner oversight in the spring, for both boys and girls. 

But the nonprofit organization intends to continue teaching tackle, too.

“I wanted to look at a way that we could grow flag dramatically,” Pop Warner CEO Steve Strawbridge said in an interview. “Flag helps tackle. Tackle helps flag.”

Traditional youth football—and its oldest operator—faced existential threats over the last 15 years. Studies linking early play with serious health consequences contributed to a drop in participation, and some states weighed banning the activity for those under a certain age. Pop Warner faced multiple lawsuits from families whose children died as adults after playing football as kids and were found to have degenerative brain disease associated with repeated hits to the head, though the exact links between football and CTE risk remain a topic of study. In another challenge, a regional director in the organization was found to have stolen hundreds of thousands of dollars from Pop Warner. He was sentenced to more than two years in prison in 2014. 

All the while, flag football grew as an alternative endeavor. Seventeen states now sanction girls’ flag football at the high school varsity level, and the sport will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028. RCX Sports took over operations of the NFL’s flag program in 2019. RCX CEO Izell Reese said participation has since quadrupled to more than 800,000, with efforts now expanding internationally.

“The NFL’s goal is kids having a great experience playing the sport, continue to grow the game and drive participation within flag football, and create a great experience for both boys and girls,” Reese said. 

Despite flag’s growth, youth tackle football didn’t disappear. Like the NFL, Pop Warner has changed several rules in the name of player safety. Prohibition has largely been defeated. 

Post-pandemic, tackle football participation rates rebounded, growing 8% from 2023 to 2024, just as quickly as flag did, according to Sports & Fitness Industry Association data. Approximately 7.8 million Americans participated in flag football in 2024, led by preteen players, while 6.1 million played tackle, led by teenagers.

Under the new deal, existing Pop Warner leagues, some of which have been offering a version of non-tackle football since the 1980s, will be able to use NFL team marks and jerseys within their flag programs. Pop Warner teams will also be eligible to compete in the NFL Flag Championships, up against teams representing all 32 NFL clubs. Existing NFL Flag leagues—operated by local parks departments, Boys & Girls Clubs, etc.— will continue running, even when near Pop Warner sites. 

“Together, we’re creating more onramps into football by meeting kids where they are,” Reese said in a statement. “Whether they’re pulling flags or making tackles, we want every young athlete to feel like there’s a place for them on the field.”

Strawbridge sees flag leagues making it easier for kids to play football year-round, while Reese emphasized the possibility of creating pathways for players who start in flag and then add in tackle football as they grow. 

Flag also expands Pop Warner’s offering for girls, which currently includes cheerleading and dance programming. “We’re already seeing that demand [from girls] for flag, and we didn’t want them to go somewhere else,” Strawbridge said. 

While Pop Warner continues running as a nonprofit, private equity-backed businesses have expanded their reach within youth sports (RCX is owned by the Raine Group). Growing youth sports force Unrivaled announced its own flag football endeavor last year after acquiring a company aligned with the NFL Players Association and Under Armour. 

“It’s going to be really interesting to see if they can penetrate football,” Strawbridge said of newer organizations. “They’re big and you know, you’re seeing them in baseball, soccer… but football is a different animal.

“All I can say is we’re seeing our numbers go up fairly dramatically and not seeing anything going backwards.”