The Pro Bowl was reimagined this year as the Pro Bowl Games, a week-long event where NFL stars traded their tackling skills for three non-contact flag football matches. Athletes from the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Kansas City Chiefs, and New York Jets—just to name a few—were selected to represent either the National Football Conference (NFC) or American Football Conference (AFC) following votes from fans, coaches, and fellow players.
NBCSports reported a whopping 6.28 million onlookers who tuned in on Feb. 5 to see the pivot from two-hand touch to flag football. The Pro Bowl Games took place at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and included Play Football Opening Night and the NFL FLAG Championships presented by Subway before ending in an NFC win (35-33).
The brand-new format was created under the leadership of RCX Sports, a youth-sports experiential business that also serves as the exclusive operator of NFL FLAG, the official flag football league of the NFL. BizBash had a tell-all interview with RCX’s COO, Garland Cooper, and vice president of marketing and experiential, Jaclyn Thomas, about RCX’s participation in the Pro Bowl, plus the importance of engagement with eventgoers and partners alike while exposing next-gen athletes to experiential.
RCX Sports is a youth-sports experiential business that also serves as the exclusive operator of NFL FLAG, the official flag football league of the NFL.Photo: Courtesy of RCX Sports
Thomas said the RCX team “had so much fun” producing a fan fest for the 1,600 young athletes a part of the NFL FLAG Championships. Athletes from 162 youth football teams from across the globe—including 10 international teams from the likes of Canada, Australia, China, Mexico, and the U.K—were in attendance, and had the opportunity to not only face off in flag football games, but also to interact with vendors including Oakley, Nerf, Gatorade, and Subway, which “presented lunch boxes to everybody,” Thomas explained, not to mention NFL players.
Cooper added that the experience—as well as all of RCX’s events—are about “inclusivity and exclusivity.” She continued: “They’re inclusive, so we try to make it so that all types of athletes and kids and families are able to experience them, but they’re also exclusive in that when you’re there, you get an experience that you can’t get anywhere else.” 
Garland Cooper, RCX's COO, said that the brand's events are about "inclusivity and exclusivity.” She continued that inclusivity comes from making sports accessible, affordable, and fit for both boys and girls, while exclusivity comes from getting "an experience that you can’t get anywhere else.”Photo: Courtesy of RCX Sports
Cooper noted that inclusivity in sports isn’t unique to RCX. “A lot of the pro sports brands are saying a lot of the same things around trying to generate fandom and get kids involved at a young age with their sport in a very affordable and accessible way.” (And RCX would know, as they also work with MLB for its Jr. Home Run Derby event, with the NHL for NHL STREET, and the NBA to bring Jr. NBA Leagues to communities across the country.)
For brands also looking to increase their fanbase, Thomas pointed to Instagram as a great place “to tell that event story,” especially when it comes to appealing to an audience affiliated with sporting events, where consumers could be eight, 18, 48, or 88 years old. But to really catch the younger consumers of our generation, Thomas says TikTok is the place to be.
Athletes from 162 youth football teams from across the globe—including 10 international teams from the likes of Canada, Australia, China, Mexico, and the U.K.—were in attendance during the Pro Bowl Games.Photo: Courtesy of RCX Sports
Thomas shared that inclusivity has extended beyond RCX’s strategy to make sports accessible and affordable to youth and their families. She explained how she and her team “have been developing strategies since 2020 to get more girls to play sports, in particular flag football.” Thomas questioned: “How can we really make sure the female athlete feels included and she wants to be there and she wants to play?” One way—showcase females in sports on social media.
See how they’re doing it:
@nflflag ⬆️😤 #fyp #viral #explorepge #viraltiktok #nfl #flagfootball #femalesinflag #trending ♬ original sound - Charlie Mosey
But what about the partnership side? For leaders whose goals are less about increasing fandom and more about leveling up in clientele, Cooper advised fellow executives to “not be afraid to volunteer and get your hands dirty. And start small.”
After all, that’s what RCX did since its foundation in 2019 by former NFL player Izell Reese, who still works as the company’s CEO. “RCX Sports really came about from a void in the marketplace for a need for youth sports events and programming,” Cooper explained, which is when “several folks on our team with an extensive background in event operations” began filling that void. Then, “it was really a snowball effect,” she added, noting that Rivals.com was an early client.
Cooper also noted that volunteers is also how RCX has been able to grow its team. “We’re continually hiring and trying to find good talent, and a lot of the ways we do that is just folks that [volunteer at] our events and show us what they can do on-site.” 
Young athletes in the NFL FLAG Championships could interact with star NFL athletes participating in the Pro Bowl as well as vendors such as Oakley, Nerf, Gatorade, and Subway.Photo: Courtesy of RCX Sports
