Flag Football Under 14 All-Time
Greatest Team
Waiting until high school to play tackle football hasn’t held back some of the greatest players in NFL history.
We assembled the Flag Football Under 14 All-Time Greatest Team, composed entirely of players who didn’t start tackle football until high school, to illustrate that it’s better to wait.
Dozens of other greats narrowly missed the cut for the All-Time Greatest Team, including Richard Seymour, Howie Long, Drew Brees, Curtis Martin, Andre Tippett, Kellen Winslow Sr., Clinton Portis, Malcolm Butler, Mike Iupati, Jahri Evans, Charlie Joiner, Jackie Smith, Ben Coates, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Leo Nomellini and many more.
The team demonstrates that choosing to wait until high school didn’t affect the playing careers of an astonishing number of all-time great players across all positions. Waiting until high school not only didn’t hurt their potential as pros, it minimized these athletes’ exposure to nonconcussive hits and brain trauma.
Read the stories of how all the players on our All-Time Greatest Team waited until at least high school before they played tackle football, as well as the grade each player was in when they started playing:
TE – John Mackey*
10th grade
DT – Warren Sapp*
10th grade
LB – Willie Lanier*
9th grade
LB – Harry Carson*
9th grade
CB – Mike Haynes*
11th grade
* These players have personally stated to the Concussion Legacy Foundation that they never played tackle football until the age listed.
Did we miss anyone that deserves consideration for the Flag Football Under 14 All-Time Greatest Team? Tell us on social media!
Research continues to reveal that repetitive brain trauma from tackle football greatly increases risk of the degenerative brain disease CTE. If you’re a parent considering enrolling your child in football, we strongly recommend you delay the tackle football experience until at least age 14.
Smoking is like tackle football. The longer you do it, the higher your risk for disease. Watch our viral, award-winning Tackle Can Wait campaign.