Football | The GIST

personLog In

WNFC inks multiyear deal with ESPN for title game as broadcast exposure and sponsorship level up the league

WNFC inks multiyear deal with ESPN for title game as broadcast exposure and sponsorship level up the league

Sports Business

WNFC inks multiyear deal with ESPN for title game as broadcast exposure and sponsorship level up the league

The Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC) announced a multiyear agreement with ESPN yesterday to broadcast its June 21st championship game live on ESPN2. The league has seen recent growth, mostly thanks to increased media exposure and sponsorship, so we chatted with WNFC advisory board member, commentator, and former player Jennifer King to learn more.

Everyone is playing (and paying) women’s flag football

Everyone is playing (and paying) women’s flag football

Everyone is playing (and paying) women’s flag football

While there’s still higher male participation in the U.S., flag football is rapidly flourishing among women and girls. During the 2023–2024 season, nearly 43K girls played in high school (105% increase YoY), while other data suggests about 500K girls aged 6 to 17 years old participated at some level in 2023.

February 21, 2026

Brands at the Super Bowl are considering women’s sports, women fans more than ever

Brands at the Super Bowl are considering women’s sports, women fans more than ever

Brands at the Super Bowl are considering women’s sports, women fans more than ever

Women make their way to Radio Row

February 07, 2026

NFL, Hallmark partnership illustrates potential scripted media opportunity in women’s sports

NFL, Hallmark partnership illustrates potential scripted media opportunity in women’s sports

NFL, Hallmark partnership illustrates potential scripted media opportunity in women’s sports

This holiday season, the Buffalo Bills aren’t just playing NFL games — they’re the latest team featured in a holiday-themed Hallmark movie thanks to the channel’s NFL partnership.

December 23, 2025

Division races heat up ahead of Week 16 action

Division races heat up ahead of Week 16 action

Division races heat up ahead of Week 16 action

Just like their college counterparts, the stakes are sky-high on the pro gridiron. With only three weeks left in the regular season, the NFL’s playoff picture is beginning to take shape — and three divisions are looking extra spicy in Week 16. Pour a glass of egg nog and let’s discuss.

December 19, 2025

Bad Bunny Super Bowl reactions underscore how Hispanic sports fans remain an overlooked market

Bad Bunny Super Bowl reactions underscore how Hispanic sports fans remain an overlooked market

Bad Bunny Super Bowl reactions underscore how Hispanic sports fans remain an overlooked market

Despite his global appeal and 12 (!!!) Latin Grammy nominations, there’s continued cultural and political controversy over Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny headlining the Super Bowl LX halftime performance, with much of the criticism centering around the singer’s set being entirely in Spanish.

October 06, 2025

Instagram and Spotify share data from Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights podcast

Instagram and Spotify share data from Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights podcast

Instagram and Spotify share data from Taylor Swift’s appearance on New Heights podcast

Earlier this week, Taylor Swift broke the Internet by announcing she would join her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, for the first time to release initial details for her 12th album. Unsurprisingly, early data around Swift’s announcement further demonstrate the power of Swifties crossing over into the sports world.

August 15, 2025

Project Rudy pitches an umbrella-style solution for NCAA football

Project Rudy pitches an umbrella-style solution for NCAA football

Sports Business

Project Rudy pitches an umbrella-style solution for NCAA football

🏈

October 11, 2024

With an uncertain future looming, the latest reimagination of college football (CFB) — called “Project Rudy” — is being spearheaded by former Disney executives as an umbrella-style solution buoyed by private equity (PE).

Read Full Story

The GIST of It Podcast

Normalizing motherhood in sport

June 25, 2026

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

Normalizing motherhood in sport

Normalizing motherhood in sport

We’re celebrating for all the right reasons today. Blayre Turnbull of the Toronto Sceptres is pregnant, marking the first PWHL player going through pregnancy in the league’s three-year history. It felt like as good a time as any to explore what the PWHL’s maternity policy is and how it stacks up to the rest of the pro women’s sports landscape.

Continue Reading

WNFC founder Odessa Jenkins shares business wins ahead of season kickoff

WNFC founder Odessa Jenkins shares business wins ahead of season kickoff

WNFC founder Odessa Jenkins shares business wins ahead of season kickoff

The Women’s National Football Conference (WNFC) kicks off its fifth season tomorrow with some new business developments, including an expanded media partnership with Caffeine TV and the creation of a new flag football branch. This Tuesday, WNFC founder Odessa Jenkins spoke with The GIST about how it all came together.

Parity becomes the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance

Parity becomes the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance

Parity becomes the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance

Parity — a platform that connects pro women athletes to aggregated marketing and sponsorship opportunities — was named the official development partner of the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) yesterday.

Super Bowl ads support female participation in football

Super Bowl ads support female participation in football

Super Bowl ads support female participation in football

wo commercials supporting female participation in football aired during the big game, but each had a different pitch — an NFL-backed spot highlighted flag football, while the other promoted girls’ tackle football.

February 15, 2023

FAMU football players voice concerns over systemic lack of support

FAMU football players voice concerns over systemic lack of support

FAMU football players voice concerns over systemic lack of support

In the wake of over 25% of the Florida A&M (FAMU) Rattlers football team being deemed ineligible to play during Friday’s 56–24 loss to UNC, 89 players penned a letter to the university’s president on Monday, detailing the systemic lack of support FAMU student-athletes face.

August 31, 2022

NFL: First down on women’s sports

NFL: First down on women’s sports

NFL: First down on women’s sports