This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Before we get to it, I’m continuing to turn to you, the reader, for your help in planning our 2-day youth sports business conference in Philly next spring.
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In the email today:
🏈 NFL Flag Championships Pop Big Ratings
Disney and NFL platforms had a combined 7.7M viewers across 22 linear broadcasts, according to ESPN’s press room — a 65% YoY jump.
Big numbers, for sure. Though 7.7M is a bit misleading.
The real story (which is still good!): Here are the Nielsen ratings for the 2-hour NFL Flag championship broadcast, which featured the boys and girls finals from 4-6 p.m. ET on a Sunday:
Overall average of 619K viewers
Boys averaged 464K viewers (first hour)
Girls averaged 766K viewers (second hour)
Peak of 878K viewers (during final minutes of girls’ competition)
Added context: The broadcast out-rated the average NHL national broadcast last season and some WNBA national broadcasts this summer.
And here are the average regular season national TV ratings for major US sports:
NFL: 17.5M viewers (multiple networks)
Little League World Series championship: 3.5M (ABC/ESPN)
NBA: 1.53M (ABC/ESPN)
MLB: 1.84M (FOX)
F1: 1.3M (ABC/ESPN)
WNBA: 1.19M (ABC/ESPN)
Girls flag: 766K
Flag overall: 619K
WNBA: 670K (ION)
Boys flag: 464K
NHL: 500K (multiple networks)
MLS: 120K (Apple TV)
ESPN also said its event-related social media engagements were up 198% YoY and video views jumped 146%.
These are meaningful ratings, and a reminder not to discount the power of linear broadcasting and major streaming platforms— they still offer a loud megaphone to amplify a sport’s appeal (the NFL and Disney threw a lot of weight into this).
While it may not be fair to compare a showcase event on a major network to a regular season WNBA game on ION or an MLS match on Apple TV, what we see here is a clear appetite among viewers for high-stakes amateur championship programming in a sport they recognize.
You know what else checks those two boxes? The Olympics and Little League World Series.
So if I’m a linear network head or major streaming company exec, I’m thinking about how to air:
more youth-oriented national championships
prime-time Texas high school football
turning IMG Academy into this generation’s Notre Dame
prying the Ripken Baseball Championship off of "Region Sports Network”
As we’ve mentioned before, for the vast majority (read: 99.9%) of youth sporting events, the viewer is a parent, family member, or friend, and there are effectively no “broadcast rights” considerations. Sponsorship opportunities for those will require the scale of something like an NFHS Network that combines thousands of events.
But there are limited-yet-substantial one-off events that can drive meaningful ratings and further interest in a given sport, as seen here.
And about that girls rating…
Our bigger takeaway here: It feels like girls flag is becoming for tackle football what softball is for baseball — creating new opportunities rather than a spin on existing ones.
The 2028 Olympics may be the real pivot point. If the NFL can get marquee names — active or recently retired stars, not role players and training camp bodies — in Los Angeles, that could further catalyze boys participation.
(The NFL should be doing everything it can to sell Tom Brady on winning a gold medal and bringing Rob Gronkowski along for the ride.)
But we feel pretty confident the members of the women’s national team will be among the stars of the summer.
That will only expedite the explosive growth of girls flag at the high school level and below.
1 in 3 Youth Sporting Events Has Ineligible Players*
Zorts powered by Flash Biometrics catches them.
Let’s be honest, check-in times at tournaments can serve as a real bottleneck.
Excited athletes are eager to compete, parents want to get a seat, and coaches… well, they have things to do!
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*Sponsor
🧱 A Facilities Brouhaha In Minnesota
The Rochester Sports and Recreation Complex is causing a new ruckus.
A state lawmaker has threatened to introduce legislation blocking development of the planned youth sports facility if the city’s council does not pump the brakes on the already-controversial project.
Some background:
Voters approved a half-cent sales tax extension in 2023 to fund the proposed indoor-outdoor facility
The local soccer community got out the vote because plans called for 8-12 multipurpose fields
Officials then revised plans to emphasize baseball and softball fields, citing concerns about competing with Blaine’s National Sports Center for soccer tourism
The pivot did not go over well with the soccer folks, who claimed they were “hoodwinked.” And now State Rep. Kim Hicks has alleged a “bait and switch.”
The indoor phase is the issue now.
Some constituents say they thought it would replace a closed YMCA location in town and the entire complex would be built for $65M.
City officials said the indoor phase was always a “future” consideration, was not a YMCA replacement and the combined price tag is closer to $120M.
Hicks’ proposed bill would halt the project to allow for it to be reconsidered, although there are questions about how much impact legislation would have.
City officials said any changes or delays could derail hopes for an indoor facility given the outdoor phase is designed to set up the indoor phase.
Stay tuned!
⚽️ New Balance Partners With USYS
The apparel giant is now an official sponsor of US Youth Soccer after agreeing to a multi-year partnership including exclusivity.
As the exclusive provider of footwear, apparel and match balls for US Youth Soccer, the brand is outfitting USYS’ Olympic Development Program (ODP) and providing performance gear to athletes at future US Youth Soccer signature events, along with onsite activations. Aligning with USYS’s strategic goal of becoming the technological leader in youth sports, New Balance will provide a platform for innovative product launches, athlete experiences and digital engagement as a modern, tech-driven sports brand.
USYS says it is the nation's largest youth sports organization— it has about 2.7M athletes and organizations in all 50 states.
Our offer at a tagline: New Balance: not just your dad’s kicks anymore!
May need some work.
🧠 CTE Back In The News After NYC Shooting
No sense in reiterating the horrific events that took place in NYC this week at 345 Park Ave, where the NFL has its headquarters, other than to reference the note found in the shooter’s pocket in which he claimed he had CTE and the NFL was at fault.
New York Mayor Eric Adams said the 27-year-old Las Vegas casino worker had a note in his wallet with the CTE claims. He played high school football in California, but his career went no further— he reportedly asked his brain be studied in the note. He had a history of mental illness.
CTE cannot be diagnosed in living people, so his autopsy will be scrutinized.
We recently led an email with a Northwestern Medicine study which found that people who play amateur contact sports do not have an increased risk of developing brain diseases.
The lead researcher said: “It throws a little bit of cold water on the current CTE narrative.”
It was just one study, but perhaps one that would have pushed against declining tackle football participation rates, rightly or wrongly.
But this tragedy will likely revive the debate about the safety of football— especially at the youth and high school level.
All of this, while the NFL was celebrating a successful flag football initiative.
🤦♀️ Parents Behaving Badly
A Pittsburgh-area family has been banned from a local ice facility after a 38-year-old woman assaulted a 16-year-old hockey referee.
Andrea Bucci grabbed the official by his shirt as he was ejecting her son from a game. She and her husband then "attempted to intimidate [the ref] by using profanity and lunging at him" after the game ended, according to KDKA.
Bucci faces an assault on a sports official charge under Pennsylvania state law; she was also charged with assault, disorderly conduct and harassment. Her husband was not charged.
The manager of the facility told cops there have been multiple incidents involving Bucci.
Thank God social media wasn’t around when my mom attended my hockey games growing up.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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And thanks to our sponsor Zorts powered by Flash Biometrics— check them out here.
Good game.