February 8, 2026; Santa Clara, California, USA; Tom Brady waves ahead of the Super Bowl LX game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots at Levi’s Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-Imagn Image The flag football event hosted by Tom Brady and the Fanatics for Saudi Arabia has been moved from Riyadh to Los Angeles due to the ongoing war in the Middle East, Fanatics announced Monday.
The revamped event was scheduled to take place on March 21, but will now be held at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, site of the 2028 Olympic flag football tournament.
It now includes three teams of 12 people each. The Football World Championship team representing the United States National Team will enter the competition with two teams comprised of current and former NFL stars or non-football players.
Brady will captain the team alongside Jalen Hurts, with Sean Payton coaching. Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels will captain the other team, coached by Kyle Shanahan. Both teams will rely on Robert Saleh as their defensive specialist.
The third team will be captained by Aamir Brown and Darrell “Housh” Doucette and coached by Jorge Cascudo.
Fox Sports will remain the broadcast carrier for the event, and comedian Kevin Hart will serve as host.
This event was produced by Brady’s Shadow Lion studio. Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Myles Garrett, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and NFL stars including retired Rob Gronkowski are expected to make appearances. All of them will be part of a 24-player pool of current and former NFL players and athletes who will be drafted by team captains on Wednesday.
“With LA28 just around the corner, events like the Fanatics Flag Football Classic are exactly where Team USA Football belongs,” Scott Hallenbeck, CEO and Executive Director of USA Football, said in a statement. “We are ready to showcase world-class, Olympic-style 5-on-5 flag football. This event features our world champion flag football players on the same field as some of the top current and former professional tackle stars, and we know our players are ready for the challenge. We are grateful to Fanatics Studios for making this possible and supporting one of the fastest-growing sports in the world.”
This event was originally scheduled to be held at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but had to be moved due to the recent chaos in the Middle East due to the US and Israel airstrikes on Iran.
–Field level media
