Unrivaled Sports Acquires Under the Lights Powered by Under Armour

Unrivaled Sports has acquired Under the Lights Powered by Under Armour, the second-largest youth flag football operator in the United States with 170 local flag football leagues and 35,000 boys and girls from first through eighth grades participating.

Unrivaled Sports was created in late March by Josh Harris, David Blitzer and The Chernin Group to oversee an overall broad portfolio of youth sports properties. Since its creation, Unrivaled Sports has had a busy month of April, as it also acquired youth soccer organization YTH Sports on April 10. Prior to the formation of Unrivaled Sports, Harris and Blitzer, the owners of the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, made a strategic investment in Ripken Baseball and the Cooperstown All Star Village in early 2023.

“As flag football approaches its Olympic debut in 2028, we are thrilled to spearhead the sport’s development at the youth level,” said Amanda Shank, executive vice president of business development at Unrivaled Sports. “By leveraging our combined expertise and resources, our goal is to enable more access to flag football while adding operational excellence. We also plan to establish Canton as the epicenter for flag football through the incredible ForeverLawn Sports Complex at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Village.”

Flag football’s popularity has surged over the last decade, culminating in its inclusion onto the sports program at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The International Federation of American Football reports that approximately 2.4 million children under 17 participate in organized flag football in the United States. Nearly half a million girls played flag football in 2023, a 63% increase since 2019.

According to the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the number of “core” youth flag football players, defined as ages 6-17 who played at least 26 times a year, increased by 14.9% over the past three years.

“This is an incredibly exciting time to be in flag football as participation continues to accelerate at all levels of the sport, with both boys and girls,” said Andy Campion, chairman of the board for Unrivaled Sports and member of the LA28 Board of Directors. “With flag football’s inclusion at LA28, we have a unique opportunity to shape the future of the sport at the youth level over the next four years and beyond.”

OneTeam Partners, which acquired Under the Lights in 2021, will retain a stake in the company and explore partnership opportunities to create programming and marketing via access to the NFL Players Association and its players.

“Recognizing the immense potential in our partnership with Unrivaled Sports, we’re committed to leveraging our Player Association rights to create unique value in the youth and experiential marketplace,” said Frank Arthofer, president of OneTeam Partners.