It turns out there is something that can get Tom Brady out of retirement: Making big money in a Saudi flag football tournament.
The future Hall of Famer and seven-time Super Bowl champion will reunite with his favorite receiving target, Rob Gronkowski, and several other NFL stars, in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic next year in Saudi Arabia.
“I’ve always admired the power of flag football, the fastest-growing sport in the world, and how it connects fans of all ages,” Brady said, according to ESPN. “I want to help continue the global movement and momentum that our game is having.”
Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, CeeDee Lamb, Maxx Crosby, Sauce Gardner, and Myles Garrett are among the current players who have said they will compete in the tournament.
“The tournament will feature round-robin style competition between current and former NFL players,” according to Boston.com.
The NFL has made it clear that the Saudi football tournament is not a league-affiliated event.
“Fanatics made us aware of the event, but this is not a league initiative,” the NFL told Pro Football Talk. “It’s up to the individual clubs to provide clearance for their active players to participate.”
The real question is, where do we go from here?
Saudi billionaires now own pro sports franchises across the world, primarily in soccer and golf.
It’s no secret that the oil kingdom’s wealthiest elite have long coveted a larger role in some of the richer, larger Western sports. While the Saudis have cleverly chosen the timing of this venture by holding the event before flag football becomes an official Olympic event in 2028, thereby assuaging any unease from the NFL by presenting it as a promotional tournament for an Olympic debut that the league cares passionately about. The Saudis could just as easily be using the tournament as a relationship-building and ground-laying effort to show former and current NFL athletes the immense amount of riches that await them should they partner with them.
That partnership could result in several Saudi-owned NFL franchises, NFL games held in Saudi Arabia, or, in a worst-case scenario, even a rival Saudi league. It starts with flag football now, but it might become something much more in the near future.
The Saudi flag football event is scheduled for March 21, 2026.
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