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New York, New York, June 6, 2023 – The American Flag Football League (AFFL) today announced that Brian Michael Cooper, previously President of the XFL Houston Roughnecks and NBA G-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of the professional AFFL league scheduled to launch in 2024.
Cooper, who most recently served as a partner in the Houston office of Frost Brown Todd LLP, where he helped lead the firm’s sports and entertainment practice, will be responsible for the new pro league’s strategic planning and business operations.
“I am proud to announce Brian as President and Chief Operating Officer of our new pro league,” said Jeff Lewis, Founder of the AFFL. “He is a seasoned sports business leader who understands how to build sports entities and the critical components within that construction.”
“It’s an honor to help launch the professional level of the AFFL” said Cooper. “I am looking forward to building this league into something special and continuing the exponential growth of flag football.”
Honored as a four-time Super Lawyers Texas Rising Star and as a top lawyer by Houstonia Magazine in 2021 and 2022, Cooper has 25 years of experience as a sports attorney, agent, executive and advisor. Prior to his work with the Roughnecks, Cooper was a partner at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith and Director of Sports Programming for DISH Network. Cooper also served as Senior Associate Athletic Director at Rice University. While leading the Vipers, Cooper negotiated the first hybrid affiliation agreement between an NBA team and NBA G-League team. Cooper began his legal career at Proskauer LLP in New York, working on matters for the NBA, NHL, ATP, and MLS.
A graduate of Cornell University, Harvard Kennedy School, and Columbia Law School, Cooper presently serves on the boards of Positive Coaching Alliance (Texas) and Longitude. Cooper also serves as an adjunct professor of sports law at the University of Houston Law Center and is a regular speaker, panelist, and media guest on sports law and sports business topics. An avid runner, Cooper also has completed five New York City Marathons.
Cooper lives in The Woodlands, Texas with his wife Jacqueline and their daughter Kendall, who will be a freshman at Harvard University this fall.
The AFFL was founded in 2016 to grow the game of flag football, and has established men’s and women’s amateur and youth leagues across the United States under the mission of football for all. The inaugural season of AFFL’s pro league will launch in 2024 with teams in Boston, Dallas, Las Vegas and Nashville. For more information, visit affl.com and follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
