{"id":352436,"date":"2025-12-16T20:23:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/352436\/"},"modified":"2025-12-16T20:23:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T20:23:07","slug":"why-oakley-is-betting-on-girls-flag-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/352436\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Oakley is betting on girls flag football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oakley has been a recognizable brand in the football world since the \u201990s, when former NFL players like Mel Gray and Warrick Dunn wore Oakley sunglasses<\/a> under their helmets before visors were common.<\/p>\n

A few decades later, football looks a little different\u2014and not only when it comes to players\u2019 preferred eyewear. Both the audience<\/a> and the athlete pool<\/a> of the sport include more women, and the team at Oakley wanted to be a part of that growth, Corey Hill, the brand\u2019s VP and head of global sports marketing, told Marketing Brew. Enter flag football, which, without helmets and visitors, might present an even clearer path for Oakley to promote its brand and products than tackle football.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn flag, there\u2019s this culture of eyewear<\/a> already in 7-on-7 boys football that has carried into girls football,\u201d Hill said. \u201cWe felt like it\u2019s a great space for us to continue to cultivate that opportunity with a new audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oakley has spent the past few years supporting flag football organizations and athletes from youth tournaments to national teams, with the ultimate goal of growing both the sport and the brand\u2019s appeal among women and younger consumers, Hill said.<\/p>\n

Full field<\/p>\n

With flag football set to make its debut as an Olympic sport in 2028, the NFL has been working to grow brand involvement<\/a> among its partners, including Oakley, which has been a league sponsor since 2019. Hill recalled that NFL representatives reached out about flag opportunities a few years ago, around the same time he happened to be coaching his daughter\u2019s flag team, leading to a \u201csymbiotic relationship\u201d and Oakley\u2019s initial involvement with flag on a local level, he said.<\/p>\n

Since then, the brand has had a presence at regional and national flag football tournaments, including the NFL Flag Championships. Oakley is also serving as the official eyewear partner of USA Football\u2019s men\u2019s, women\u2019s, and junior national teams through LA28.<\/p>\n

Though Oakley\u2019s involvement with flag now reaches up to the highest levels of the sport, Hill said his team\u2019s primary focus for flag remains connecting with younger audiences, especially girls.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that we want to make sure that we\u2019re doing is talking to the consumers that we think can help grow the brand,\u201d he said. \u201cIn the past, I would say our consumer had skewed a little older and male. Bringing in younger, female [consumers] really helps to grow our potential market base.\u201d<\/p>\n

One way to do that is through the Oakley Icon Alliance, the brand\u2019s women\u2019s flag football tournament that has plans to expand to include 16 teams in its regional rounds in 2025. The event is meant to provide girls with an opportunity to play at a high level while also giving them a \u201cpremium-level experience, much like what the boys get\u201d at their tournaments, Hill said. That includes recovery stations, streaming and broadcast coverage, and games held at NFL facilities.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe whole point was to put that top-level experience out there that right now, they\u2019re not necessarily getting from any other brand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

End zone<\/p>\n

Oakley has been seeing movement among the youth demographic, and engagement rates among that audience have increased by double digits in the past three years, according to Hill. While that growth isn\u2019t entirely due to flag football, he said, he credits it as a factor, and Oakley has clocked sales growth for products it\u2019s promoting specifically in flag, like its HyperGrip technology, he noted.<\/p>\n

While flag football doesn\u2019t have the reach of the NFL, this summer\u2019s championships aired on platforms including ABC, ESPN Deportes, and Disney+, and games reached a total of 7.7 million fans, up 65% from last year\u2019s tournament, according to ESPN. Oakley \u201cgot some really good exposure\u201d during that coverage, Hill said, and also had some standout moments on social<\/a>: Wide receiver Brysen Wright, for instance, celebrated a viral catch<\/a> with a backflip while wearing Oakleys.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have built a commercial that was any better, because the product then stayed on his face when he did the backflip,\u201d Hill said.<\/p>\n

Oakley is currently in the midst of its Icon Alliance regionals, with the championship on the horizon in February. Beyond the youth level, Hill said his team is also focused on the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships that will showcase its sponsorships of Team USA and deal with Mexican flag football star Diana Flores.<\/p>\n

In the midst of those moments, and in the run-up to LA28, the Oakley team will continue to prioritize efforts to foster a stronger pipeline for young girls to get into football and develop their skills in between the youth and national levels, Hill said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really all about making sure that there\u2019s opportunities for sport for young people,\u201d he said. \u201cWe think [flag] is a super disruptive space. It\u2019s obviously different than anything that\u2019s been out there.\u201d<\/p>\n