Varsity jackets, dorky glasses, big perms and one heck of a mullet transport viewers to a 1980s high school in the NFL’s flagship Super Bowl spot running just after the Apple Music Halftime Show.

The two-minute-long film titled “NFL Flag 50” depicts how a girls’ flag football team gains momentum. The spot opens with the story of a new girl at the ’80s school, played by real-life high school girls’ flag football star Ki'Lolo Westerlund, who rivals the male captain of her school’s football team. Discouraged by her male counterpart, she sticks to her guns as she works to build up her team.

The spot features cameos including NFL legend Pat McAfee as the principal, the Minnesota Vikings’ Justin Jefferson, Myles Garrett from the Cleveland Browns and NFL legend Marshawn Lynch as a fan on the bleachers. The female athletes in the spot are all played by real flag stars from around the world.

Toward the end, the protagonist—after a Saquon Barkley-esque backwards hurdle over her nemesis—launches forward in time into the present, juxtaposing the past with the progress made in the modern world by normalizing girls’ flag football. 

The spot was created by 72andSunny Los Angeles and directed by Peter Berg, who worked on the Emmy-Award winning “NFL 100” Super Bowl commercial celebrating 100 years of the league during Super Bowl LIII (as well as the “Friday Night Lights” movie and TV series, as well as Cirkul’s Super Bowl ad). It was filmed in a real high school in San Diego after the Los Angeles wildfires delayed production. 

‘Football is for everyone’

The NFL says growing flag football both nationally and globally is a priority for the league. Currently, 15 U.S. states offer flag as a high school varsity sport, with an additional 18 states running pilot programs. Mississippi and Louisiana both became sanctioned states over the last two weeks. 

The NFL won’t stop until all 50 states offer flag football as a high school varsity sport, said Tim Ellis, chief marketing officer at the NFL. 

“The big overarching message is that football is for everyone,” he told Ad Age in an interview. “Over the last six years we have been focusing on how to open up the game and make it more inclusive and welcoming, as well as building our fan base by focusing on girls and women, Latinos and young people. A lot of that has been focusing on participation, because we know that ultimately, if you play the game, you’re four times as likely to become a lifelong fan.” 

For girls, flag football is a way to engage and learn to love the sport. Additionally, it opens up opportunities for more women to go on to play professionally, get scholarships and attend college, added Marissa Solis, the NFL’s senior VP of global brand and consumer marketing. However, to open those doors, first, the NFL must dismantle the stereotype that girls can’t play football.

“The ’80s [theme of the spot] is so great because of all those stereotypes [represented]. We want people to think about them and that we have to get rid of that stereotype that girls can’t play, or girls aren’t badass, and this commercial does it in a perfect way,” said Solis. 

According to the National Federation of High Schools, participation in girls’ high school flag grew by over 100% last school year. Additionally, the NFL worked with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) to include flag football in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles for 2028.

In addition to the halftime spot, the league is running a 30-second version of its cause campaign “Somebody” in Super Bowl LIX. The extended version, which launched during the NFC and AFC Championship games, celebrates mentorship and uplifting youth from all backgrounds.