Q: Is NFL FLAG operating the OPEN Tournament Series in 2022?

A: No, OPEN Tournaments will not be operated by NFL FLAG.  

Q: What are the rules for NFL FLAG? 

A: Click here for the NFL FLAG Rulebook

Q: What is Stay to Play? 

A: Stay to Play means that any teams, outside of a 75-mile radius, who need to stay over in a hotel, must use our hotel link to book their rooms. Not being compliant with Stay to Play could affect your participation in the event.  

Q: Are there multi-team discounts for NFL FLAG Tournaments? 

A: There are NO multi team discounts. 

Q: Is there any financial assistance from NFL FLAG for teams traveling to NFL FLAG Tournaments? 

A: All teams are responsible for their own financials to and from regional tournaments.

Q: What if an NFL FLAG Tournament is canceled due to weather, do I get a refund? 

A: There are no refunds. However, if an event is cancelled by RCX Sports, all teams will be refunded. 

Q: Is there a cap on the number of teams that can participate in the age division? 

A: Yes, each event will be capped depending on the amount of field space, so don’t miss out and register early.

Q: Will players be age verified at NFL FLAG Tournaments?  

A: Yes, participants must be age verified through the NSID Website. Onsite age verification will not take place under any circumstances. 

Q: Where is NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl going to be in 2023? 

A: Once the NFL announces the location of the 2023 Pro Bowl, we will provide more details around the Championships. 

Q: Can a roster be altered once the team qualifies for NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl? 

A: No. Once your team wins at Regionals, all rosters are locked, and no adjustments can be made. 

Q: When are rosters due for Regional Tournaments? 

A: Rosters are due two Fridays prior to the Regional Tournament. 

Q: Can my team wear their own jerseys at a Regional Tournament? 

A: No, teams must wear the Regional Tournament provided jerseys. 

Q: What is age verification? Do I have to complete this step?  

A: Age verification confirms the appropriate age of each athlete ensuring that no documents are being altered or falsified. Every player is required to do age verification.  

Q: How do I get my athlete “age verified”? 

A: Once the coach of a team has sent the player an invited from NSID, the player will receive an email and allow for them to “join the team”. They will then begin uploading the needed information for their age verification process to begin. There is a $11.79 cost to be age verified. 

Q: What documents do I need to get my athlete age verified?  

A: A birth certificate or passport or state id may be used. All participants are required to upload school documents, like a report card or progress report, as well as a photo head shot.  

Q: Does getting my athlete age verified cost money?  

A: Yes, the age verification process costs $11.79. Once your child is age verified, they will not need to be re-verified for another tournament this year.  

Q: How much does it cost to register my team for a tournament? 

A: Team Registration is $350 per team during our early registration period and $450 per team during our late registration period. Please be sure to check the individual tournament page for detailed timelines on early and late registration 

Q: My athlete is playing in more than one tournament. Do I need to pay for age verification each time?  

A: No. You will only need to pay for the age verification process once and your athlete is eligible to participate in any NFL FLAG tournament this year. When you register for another tournament, be sure to log into NSID with the same log in email to make sure you are using the correct ID number for your athlete. If you have any questions regarding payment, please reach out to NSID directly at billing@nationalsportsid.com 

Q: My athlete is not showing as age verified. What do I do?  

A: There are a few reasons why your athlete may not be shown as eligible, or age verified on their team roster.  

1) Your player(s) NSID may be in the pending review status and in this case, it will be orange when you log in. Please allow up to 24 hours for the review to take place. 

2) Your player(s) NSID may have been rejected and is awaiting a change or more information. If so, the NSID will be red, and you can view the reason on your Dashboard or on the player’s NSID. 

In either case, we encourage you to check your athlete’s status with NSID by reaching out to customer service at admin@nationalsportsid.com 

Q: We don’t have any registered NFL FLAG Leagues in our area. How can we participate in an NFL FLAG Regional Tournament this year? 

A: Teams must be a part of a verified NFL FLAG League in order to participate in any regional tournaments. Please visit this link to find out how to start your own NFL FLAG League. 

Q: How do I invite players to my roster?  

A: Once you have created a team in NSID, you will be directed to your team view page. Once there, you will see a “invite player” button at the top of the page. You will enter each player/player’s parents email address. This will send an email to the player/parent of the player for them to accept. This will place the athlete on your roster.  

Q: How do I know my team is fully validated? 

A: The team page will turn green and state “Team Verified” with the division the team is eligible for. 

Q: Do head coaches and assistant coaches need to be background checked? 

A: Yes, all coaches will need to complete their background check and concussion certification through this portal: background check/concussion protocol 

Q: How much does it cost to complete a coach background check/concussion certification? 

A: $20, the certification and background check will last you for 1 year. 

Q: When are coach background checks due? 

A: Coach background checks are due at the same time as the team roster (two Fridays prior to the event). 

Q: What is the structure of an NFL FLAG Regional Tournament? 

A: Each team is guaranteed three games. The top 50% of teams advance to single elimination playoffs. The winners of each division in each tournament qualify for the NFL FLAG Championships at the Pro Bowl. Some Regionals may be one day, and others are two days depending on the anticipated number of registered teams.  

Q: What does “open borders” mean? 

A: Open borders applies to NFL FLAG Super Regionals and means that any NFL FLAG Program in the country can attend the Tournament, and you are not restricted to only your region. In 2022 we have three Super Regionals 

Q: What does “closed borders” mean? 

A: Closed borders means that any NFL FLAG Program in the region can attend the event, and only teams from within that region are eligible to attend. 

Q: Can I attend a Canadian Regional tournament? 

A: Only Canadian teams with the entire roster residing in Canada are eligible to play in a Canadian Regional tournament.  

Q: How do you qualify for a regional tournament?

A: ONLY participants from an ACTIVE NFL FLAG league are permitted to compete in regional and super regional tournaments. 

• An active league has placed a qualifying order for their league within the last 12 months. Contact info@nflflag.com for questions around an NFL FLAG league’s status. 

2022 Tournament Guidelines

NFL FLAG Tournament Rulebook will be used.  

NFL FLAG Regional teams will be provided with NFL FLAG Jerseys, flags, and footballs for each event, unless otherwise noted.  

All NFL FLAG Tournaments are Stay-to-Play for teams who reside 75-miles from event location 

Rosters will be a MAX of 10 players/2 coaches.  

All rostered players MUST be registered and participate in the same NFL FLAG League/Organization in 2022, to be eligible to participate in an NFL FLAG Regional Tournament. 

Players may only be on one roster. Players cannot play in two NFL FLAG Regional age divisions. 

A coach can only be rostered as “Head Coach” for 1 team in a tournament but can be rostered as “Assistant Coach” for infinite teams in separate age divisions in the same tournament.  

The only way to qualify for NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl is by winning a Regional or Super Regional Tournament. 

Qualified teams will receive a Full Bid entry to NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl 

Once a team qualifies the entire roster and Head Coach is FINAL. Edits may not be made to the rosters for the NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl. 

Qualified players are ineligible to attend any other Regional Tournament in any division. 

Once Qualified, the Head Coach is ineligible to coach in the SAME division at any other Regional Tournament. 

Qualified teams are not permitted to change age divisions for the NFL FLAG Championships at Pro Bowl.  

NFL FLAG National Rankings will be used to fill spots for the NFL FLAG Championships if qualified teams decide not to redeem their Full Bid entry. 

• All teams will be put into a Pool Play Format. 

• Every team is guaranteed a minimum of (3) three pool play games. 

• The TOP 50% teams from Pool Play in each division will advance to a single elimination playoff bracket. 

• All teams will be reseeded according to the following criteria for bracket play: 

Least Games Lost 

Most games Won 

Head-to-Head Record (2 teams only) 

Points Against 

Points For 

Coin Toss 

8u

• Birthyear 2013 or younger 

8u Rec

• Birthyear 2013 or younger 

10u Girls  

• Birthyear 2011 or younger 

10u

• Birthyear 2011 or younger 

10u Rec

• Birthyear 2011 or younger 

12u Girls  

• Birthyear 2009 or younger 

12u

• Birthyear 2009 or younger 

12u Rec

• Birthyear 2009 or younger 

14u Girls 

• Birthyear 2007 or younger 

14u

• Birthyear 2007 or younger 

17u Girls  

• Birthyear 2004 or younger 

Q: What qualifies a team as a recreation team? 

A Recreation Team must be a Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, JCC (Jewish Community Center), PAL (Police Athletic League), or a Park and Recreation NFL FLAG Program. New this year, we will also allow a full team from an NFL FLAG League to participate in the Rec division. This roster may not be adjusted from league play and must be confirmed with your League Organizer in order to register. All Star teams and combined rosters are prohibited. Violation of this rule could result in disqualification of tournament play and championship play for the remainder of the calendar season. 

Q: I don’t see where to register my co-ed team. What should I do? 

A: If your age division does not specify the gender with it (ex: 12u Girls), it is a co-ed division. Co-ed divisions can consist of boys and girls, all boys or all girls. 

Q: Can my all-girls team play in any regional tournament? 

A: Yes, all girls’ divisions are able to travel and play in any regional tournament, within your borders.  

Q: With there being no Open Tournaments, will there be 9u, 11u, and 13u age divisions at Regional Tournaments? 

A: No, NFL FLAG will not have these divisions in 2022.  

Q: How do you qualify for a regional tournament?

A: ONLY participants from an ACTIVE NFL FLAG league are permitted to compete in regional and super regional tournaments. 

• An active league has placed a qualifying order for their league within the last 12 months. Contact info@nflflag.com for questions around an NFL FLAG league’s status. 

Q: If someone plays in multiple NFL FLAG leagues, can they play for different teams during different Regionals? 

A: Yes, that individual would be eligible to play for either organization adding a team to the event. However, if the individual qualifies and wins with “Org A”, they are now ineligible to play for “Org B” 

Q: Can you attend more than one Regional Tournament? 

A: Yes, only if it is in your Region. Once you win a Regional, your team is unable to attend another.  

Q: Can an individual player attend more than one Regional Tournament? 

A: No, any player on a winning roster is ineligible to compete in another event. 

Q: How many players and coaches can be on a roster at a Regional Tournament? 

A: A roster must consist of a minimum of 6 players and a maximum of 10 players. A maximum of 2 coaches are permitted.  

Q: Can a player from another NFL FLAG League be on my Regional Tournament roster? 

A: NO, Rosters must be built from the same program/organization within the calendar year. The league organizer must be able to prove that the player participated in their league.  

Q: Can a player play for more than one roster at NFL FLAG Regional Tournaments? 

A: NO, at regional tournaments players are restricted to only one roster in one age division. 

Q: Can you be a coach for more than one roster at NFL FLAG Regional Tournaments?  

A: Coaches are allowed to be listed as a Head Coach for only one team per event, however they can be listed as an assistant coach for as many teams as they choose, as long as they are not in the same age division. 

Q: If a team wins a Regional Tournament, will I receive a free paid bid to NFL FLAG Championships at the Pro Bowl? 

A: Winners from each division at a Regional Tournament earn a Full Bid (registration cost only) to the NFL FLAG Championships at the Pro Bowl. 

• Participants must be age verified through the (NSID) National Sports ID Platform prior to the event. Onsite age verification will not take place under any circumstances. 

• All coaches must pass a background check by (PH) Players Health to be eligible to coach. 

NFL FLAG Regional Tournaments registration opens 8 weeks prior to the date of the event. 

• $350 Team Registration Fee (Early)- First 3 weeks of registration 

• $450 Team Registration Fee (Late)- Last 3 weeks of registration 

• Registration will close 2 weeks prior to the event