NFL Puts Women's Flag Football in Spotlight

Current stars x '80s nostalgia

Let’s watch women’s flag football star Ki’Lolo Westerlund vault over the competition—and travel 40 years into the future. No AI required.

She headlines the NFL’s rousing Super Bowl 59 spot, a slapstick throwback to Reagan-era teen comedies.

At Central High in 1985, a bunch of smug jock dudes think they’ll get the upper hand. Naturally, things don’t work out that way on the field.

ESPN’s Pat McAfee appears with NFLers Justin Jefferson, Marshawn Lynch and Myles Garrett. But a squad of elite female flag players steal the show.

“This is our ad to really inspire people to think differently about the NFL, to think differently about football,” NFL CMO Tim Ellis told the Hollywood Reporter. “This particular ad is a tribute to the evolution of girls high school sports and to the momentum of girls flag football and the gains it has been making as an official high school varsity sport. For us, it’s all about momentum.”

Ultimately, it’s a call for women’s and girl’s flag football to become a varsity sport in all 50 states.

72and Sunny developed the commercial; Peter Berg directed. It feels uplifting and on point, with the Scorpions’ “Rock You Like a Hurricane” driving the action.

(Which brand will take home the 2025 Super Clio for the Big Game’s best ad? We’ll find out on Feb. 10.)