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Brady to play with NFL stars in Saudi flag tourney (0:50)
Brady to play with NFL stars in Saudi flag tourney (0:50)
Ryan McFaddenSep 15, 2025, 06:31 PM ET
- Ryan McFadden covers the Las Vegas Raiders for ESPN's NFL Nation. Prior to ESPN, McFadden was a Denver Broncos beat reporter for the Denver Post. McFadden also wrote about the Baltimore Ravens and University of Maryland athletics for The Baltimore Sun.
LAS VEGAS -- Tom Brady is coming out of retirement ... sort of.
The Las Vegas Raiders minority owner and seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback announced Monday that he is teamed up with Fanatics, Fox Sports and OBB Media for The Fanatics Flag Football Classic.
Brady will play in a first-of-its-kind round-robin tournament featuring three teams of current and former NFL players.
The tournament will take place March 21, 2026, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
"It felt like the perfect time for me to hit the field again and get my competitive juices flowing," Brady said ahead of Monday night's matchup between the Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers.
Among the participants are Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Sauce Gardner, Myles Garrett, Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr., and Brady's former teammate Rob Gronkowski.
Additional participants, consisting of professional athletes from other sports and celebrities, will be announced in the coming months.
The teams will be coached by Pete Carroll, Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan.
Flag football will be introduced in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. NFL clubs voted in May to permit players to participate.
"I've always admired the power of flag football, the fastest-growing sport in the world, and how it connects fans of all ages," Brady said. "I want to help continue the global movement and momentum that our game is having."
