Two Pittsburgh Teams Win $20,000 at NFL FLAG Jets Regional and Book Trips to Indianapolis

CLIFTON, N.J. Two Pittsburgh National League teams, the 8U and the 10U, won the NFL FLAG Jets Regional on Sunday, October 18. Each team took home $10,000. Both earned a bid to the NFL FLAG Championship in Indianapolis in July 2027.

That is $20,000 and two championship bids in one day, and it is the fifth time PNL teams have won prize money. It is also the latest result for a league that started in 2004 with four teams a season and now fields more than 62.

• Event: NFL FLAG Jets Regional, Clifton, New Jersey, Sunday, October 18, 2026

• Champions: Pittsburgh National League 8U and 10U teams

• Prize: $10,000 for each team, $20,000 total

• Next: NFL FLAG Championship, Indianapolis, July 2027

Want your kid on a team like this? Spring 2027 flag football registration is open now and closes March 31, 2027. Everything you need to join is at the bottom of this story.

PNL coaches hold the $10,000 8U and 10U Rec Champions checks from the NFL FLAG Jets Regional, dated October 18, 2026.

How a regional win becomes a trip to Indianapolis

NFL FLAG is the largest flag football organization in the country, with more than 830,000 participants in all 50 states, according to figures cited by 90.5 WESA. Its Regionals are the front door to the national stage. Last fall's Regionals drew more than 800 registered teams nationwide, and the winner of each Regional earns a bid to the NFL FLAG Championships. Teams that do not win can still qualify through the spring Regionals and Super Regionals.

That means the path to Indianapolis runs through a winner-take-the-bid tournament, one team per division per Regional. PNL walked out of Clifton with two. Pittsburgh sits in the NFL FLAG eastern quadrant, and this Jets Regional is one of the stops where eastern teams earn their way in.

A track record, not a one-weekend story

The Jets Regional is familiar ground. The Boyce Park Jets 8U won it in 2025. Read about last year's Jets Regional win and the trip to the national championship. Last April the Boyce Park Steelers 10U won the Steelers Regional. Both teams then qualified for the 2026 NFL FLAG Championships at Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana, near Indianapolis.

• Five New York Jets Foundation checks since 2023 (the first two went to Pittsburgh Elite, PNL's travel organization at the time): $5,000 in June 2023, $5,000 in May 2024, $10,000 in October 2025, and now $10,000 twice in October 2026. That is $40,000 in all.

• A world championship at Disney in January 2024, with no prize money on the line.

• NFL FLAG Championships six years in a row.

• Regional titles in multiple age groups: Jets Regional (12U in 2023 and 2024, 8U in 2025), Steelers Regional (12U and 10U in 2023, 8U in 2025, 10U in 2026) and Browns Regional (10U in 2024). The full list is on the PNL championships page.

• Named NFL FLAG League of the Year.

June 18, 2023: a $5,000 Jets Foundation check for Pittsburgh Elite, our travel organization at the time, with rings in hand.

May 4, 2024: a second $5,000 Jets Foundation check for Pittsburgh Elite at the NFL FLAG Regional.

The world championship, January 2024: the Champions and MVP trophies at Disney.

The PNL 8U team with its $10,000 Rec Champions check.

PNL 10U team members show their championship rings beside the $10,000 10U Rec Champions check.

Where PNL came from

Rashad Colvin and Erik Cooper started the league in 2004 at the Penn Hills YMCA. When the YMCA closed in 2018, they moved the program under the NFL FLAG banner. Cooper has been commissioner for the last 14 years and has grown the league from four teams a season to more than 62. PNL is a nonprofit, serves ages 4 to 18, and is an official NFL FLAG sanctioned program.

What the league is built on

Western Pennsylvania has other flag football options, and plenty of families are happy with them. Here is what PNL puts on the table:

• A live draft, no tryouts, no cuts. Coaches pick every player at the PNL Live Draft, held the Thursday and Friday of the third week of April. Every kid who signs up plays.

• Official 5-on-5 NFL FLAG rules and certified officials, the same format teams face at Regionals and the Championship.

• Girls programs. An all-girls league and a high school girls program, plus a Rookie League for ages 4 to 6.

• More than the regular season. Playoffs, All-Star Weekend, an Honors Ceremony, a Hall of Fame, player stats and career leaders, travel teams, training, and tournaments including the Steel City Turkey Bowl.

• Help paying. A payment plan with $45 down, and NFL FLAG Grant support through RCX Sports for qualifying households, with a deadline of March 10, 2027.

PNL champions in matching CHAMPS shirts hold up their rings at the NFL FLAG Jets Regional in Clifton, New Jersey.

How to join PNL for Spring 2027

• Register: Spring 2027 registration is open now and closes March 31, 2027. The fee is $145, or $135 for the first 50 players. A jersey and flag belt are provided. Age cutoff is August 1, 2026.

• Free skills camp: Saturday, April 3, 2027 at Linton Middle School, 250 Aster Street, Pittsburgh. Ages 4 to 8 at 10 AM, ages 9 to 18 at 12 PM. Beginners welcome. Details and sign-up.

• Questions: info@pittsburghnflleague.com

Pick your location:

• Penn Hills at Linton Middle School. Saturdays. Rookie 6U and all-girls divisions. Opening week April 3, first games April 17.

• Boyce Park in Plum. Sundays. Coed 8U to 14U. Opening week April 4, first games April 18.

• Swissvale at Dickson. Thursdays. Opening week April 1, first games April 22.

• Mellon Park in Pittsburgh. Fridays. Opening week April 2, first games April 23.

What is next

The Steel City Turkey Bowl is Sunday, November 22 at Linton Middle School. Then comes the Road to Indy, with updates on our site and social channels all the way to July 2027. The teams that got us here started as kids signing up for a season. The next ones can start this spring.

Register for Spring 2027 flag football.