Advisors
Sam Rapoport
Elevate advisor · Senior Advisor, USA Football
Sam Rapoport is a long-time NFL league office executive known for her work behind the league’s gender equity movement. She is Senior Advisor to USA Football, the National Governing Body of American football in the United States.
With more than 20 years of experience in football – both as a player and executive – Sam has been instrumental in defining the future of football for girls and women. She created the groundbreaking NFL Women’s Forum, a forward-thinking movement that has transformed the NFL’s hiring landscape. The NFL now has more women in coaching roles than any other male professional sports league in the world.
Before a decade with the NFL (2016–2025), Sam spent nearly six years (2010–2016) with USA Football, leading the NFL FLAG program and U.S. National Teams. She created the USA Football-NFL Girls Flag Program as well as the Women's World Football Games.
Sam is a former football quarterback, playing flag and tackle disciplines her whole life. She previously led Team Canada to an international championship.
Her work has earned her a place among Sports Illustrated’s Most Powerful Women in Sports, Fortune’s 40 Under 40, and People Magazine’s 25 Women Changing the World. She is a recipient of the Sports Business Journal Game Changer Award. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, she began her professional career with the NFL in 2003.
“I know first-hand the impact that football can have on and off the field and have dedicated my entire life to sharing that with others.”
Sam Rapoport