PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NFL’s most powerful people got a taste of Caitlin Clark’s ability to inspire this week.
The Indiana Fever superstar served as one of the focal speakers for Sunday night’s annual review that opens the NFL’s league meetings, participating in a panel on women’s sports and flag football with tennis icon Serena Williams and former Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
Clark, 23, felt like a natural fit alongside Williams, another superstar whose reach transcended her sport and increased its profile.
“We’re always looking for perspective,” NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Tuesday. “We have owners that are investing in sports, particularly in women’s sports. (Clark's) already an icon at a very young age. She was sitting there with the GOAT, Serena, who understands, not just women’s sports, but she understands business. … I think both of their perspectives were really valuable for ownership to understand and really learn from them.”
The NFL is heavily invested in the growth of flag football among women and men, using the sport as a tool to grow interest in the United States and internationally.
Goodell revealed at the Super Bowl that the NFL has interest in establishing a professional flag football league, and potentially a league for women and men, a desire he reiterated at the end of the meetings on Tuesday.
Fifteen states have officially sanctioned girls flag football as a high school varsity sport, and although Indiana is not one of those states, the Colts have been at the forefront of a push to get it sanctioned.
The Irsay family announced a $1 million investment into the sport in November, and the Colts sponsor flag football leagues throughout Indiana.
“It gives people a chance to understand this game, particularly the young women,” Goodell said. “It’s clear that there’s a lot of interest in a professional flag league.”
Statistically, I’m bringing down the average win percentage of this panel. pic.twitter.com/YlwV5L2cMd
— Eli Manning (@EliManning) March 31, 2025
Clark, a longtime Kansas City Chiefs fan, said that if flag football had been available to her as a kid, she would likely have played, according to what she told the league’s owners.
“It was interesting to hear Caitlin say, ‘If flag football was around when I was growing up, I might not be a basketball player,’” Kansas City owner Clark Hunt told reporters after her appearance at the NFL meetings.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Caitlin Clark: Why NFL ownership wanted to hear from Indiana Fever star
