TMRW Sports today announced Ashlea Klam as the company’s first professional flag football ambassador. As one of the sport’s most promising athletes, Klam will serve as a spokesperson for TMRW Sports and the NFL’s upcoming professional flag football league, supporting its development. Klam will represent TMRW Sports at this week’s Sport Beach at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
“To be part of shaping the future of flag football is incredibly meaningful,” said Klam. “The momentum behind the sport is undeniable. And the opportunity to support TMRW Sports’ development of a professional league alongside the NFL is something I’m honored to be a part of and help build together.”
"Ashlea represents the drive, leadership and competitive spirit that are fueling flag football’s remarkable rise in the United States and all around the world,” said Mike McCarley, founder and CEO, TMRW Sports. "As a spokesperson for the sport, Ashlea’s voice is welcomed as we set a standard for professional flag football for women and men."
Klam is a member of the USA Football’s Women’s National Flag Football Team and one of the sport’s brightest rising stars. She helped Team USA capture the 2024 IFAF Women’s Flag Football World Championship and 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Championship, earning a spot on the national team at just 18 years old. As an NAIA First Team All-American at Keiser University, Klam led the Seahawks to three consecutive national championship game appearances from 2024 through 2026 and was named the 2026 NAIA Flag Football Player of the Year. During Klam’s upcoming senior season, she will compete for California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), the first NCAA Division I women’s program on the west coast. Ashlea and her family have already made their mark in the flag football world by starting Texas Fury Flag Football, which has grown to be one of the U.S.’s most successful, all-girls’ flag football programs. As an NFL-IFAF Global Flag Ambassador and advocate for the growth of flag organizations, Klam continues to elevate the sport ahead of its debut at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
TMRW Sports and the NFL plan to launch the new professional flag football league prior to the 2028 Olympics. Fans will experience flag football’s fast-paced action with teams of the sport’s best women and men athletes from around the globe competing at a pro level. And through a tech-forward approach, broadcasts will feature a data-rich, accessible presentation that deepens fan engagement with flag, one of the world’s fastest-growing sports.
The league has support from a broad and influential investor pool, including NFL club owners, established institutional and strategic investors, and current and former NFL players, reflecting confidence in the sport's long-term growth potential and increasing global relevance. Adding this pro-level tier will play an important role within flag football's broader global pathway, capping a growing youth, high school, collegiate and international ecosystem with the opportunity to compete professionally for women and men.
More than 20 million people currently play the sport around the world, with participation continuing to grow across all levels. Approximately 4.1 million youth play flag football in the U.S. alone – more than a 50% increase since 2020. Flag football is now offered at the high school level in 40 states, with the number of young women playing on their high school teams increasing by nearly 60% from 2024 to 2025. In addition, more than 200 colleges and universities across the country now offer women’s flag football programming. The NCAA recently approved flag football as part of the Emerging Sports for Women program and voted at its spring meeting to recommend that Divisions I, II and III add a National Collegiate Flag Football Championship as early as spring 2028.
About TMRW Sports: (pronounced “tomorrow sports”)
TMRW Sports is focused on building modern approaches in sports, media and entertainment. By creating new leagues for a new age, TMRW Sports, in partnership with established leagues like the NFL, PGA TOUR and LPGA, is forging pathways and experiences for new generations of fans. TMRW Sports’ first project, TGL presented by SoFi, is a primetime team golf league in partnership with the PGA TOUR reaching 152 territories worldwide and described as a “high-energy arena spectacle” by Vanity Fair, “pure entertainment” by GQ, and “golf’s boldest new venture” by Fast Company. Launching this fall, WTGL will feature teams of the world’s best women golfers in partnership with the LPGA. TMRW Sports is also developing a men’s and women’s professional flag football league in partnership with the National Football League and 32 Equity, the NFL’s collective investment vehicle. Founded by Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and sports executive Mike McCarley, TMRW Sports is supported by an influential and diverse investor group of athletes, celebrities and business leaders from the worlds of sports, media, technology and finance. For more, visit TMRW Sports.
