Former Louisville Cardinals and current Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is joining an all-star crew to represent the National Football League and the International Federation of American Football around the globe. 

What You Need To Know

  • Lamar Jackson joins Demario Davies and Stefon Diggs as Global Flag Football Ambassadors

  • It's part of a broad strategy by the NFL to spread the sport globally

  • The league is also expanding the Pro Bowl to the "Pro Bowl Games" which will feature flag football prominently

The 2019 Most Valuable Player was named as a new Global Flag Football Ambassador in a news release on Thursday. “It’s an honor to represent the NFL as we continue to expand the popularity of flag football across the world,” said Jackson. “I love how quickly the game has grown, and it’s amazing to see the impact it’s made, especially on the youth level for boys and girls everywhere. Football is the ultimate team sport, and flag competition is just another way the game unites people and provides opportunities for fun.”

The ambassador team includes men and women, current American and flag football players, coaches and officials who will "work together to raise the profile and promote the unique values of one of the world's fastest growing sports." Others joining the Global Flag Football Ambassador team include: 

  • Demario Davies - New Orleans Saints All-Pro Linebacker
  • Stefon Diggs - Buffalo Bills All-Pro Wide Receiver
  • Taylor Rapp - Los Angeles Rams Defensive Back 
  • Liz Sowers - Women's Flag Football Coach, ottawa University 
  • Charlie Ward - Former Florida State Quarterback and 1993 Heisman Trophy Winner

The Flag Football Ambassadors team was first announced ahead of the NFL season kickoff earlier this year. It is part of a broader effort to expand participation in the sport nationally and internationally. The league also anounced it was expanded the Pro Bowl to the "The Pro Bowl Games" this year. The week-long celebration of player skills will feature a new format that spotlights flag football, including the "Play Football Opening Night" and the NFL Flag Championships, featuring girls' and boys' youth flag football teams from across the country and around the world. 

Flag football is currently played by men, women, boys and girls of all ages in 100 countries around the world, and the NFL hopes to capitalize on the momentum behind the sport following its debut at the World Games in Birmingham, Ala., earlier this year. The IFAF is hoping to include representation from every continent in its flag football competitions in 2023. 

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