MEET
SAM RAPOPORT
Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the National Football League
ABOUT SAM
Sam Rapoport is a trailblazing, award-winning executive who’s redefining the future of football on a global stage. With over 20 years in the game, Rapoport has done more than break barriers — she’s built new blueprints for power, equity, and representation in one of the world’s most tradition-bound leagues.
-
A driving force behind the NFL’s gender equity movement, Rapoport created the groundbreaking NFL Women’s Forum, a game-changing initiative that has transformed the league’s hiring landscape. What began as a bold idea has become a global model: in just a few short years, the NFL has gone from zero to 15 full-time female coaches and scouting roles for women across all 32 teams — an unprecedented shift that has sparked replication across MLB, the CFL, and beyond. The NFL now has more women in coaching roles than any male professional sports league in the world.
Known for her unapologetic leadership and culture-shifting impact, Sam Rapoport is not just leading a movement — she’s turning it into a permanent part of the NFL’s DNA.
Rapoport is the host of the NFL’s acclaimed podcast, “Earnin’ It: The NFL’s Forward Progress”, where she brings untold stories of women in football to the forefront — earning critical praise and an international following.
Her trailblazing 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’s a recipient of the Sports Business Journal Game Changer Award and a go-to voice for major media platforms like The TODAY Show, Good Morning America, CNN, and The Pat McAfee Show.
Rapoport is a former quarterback playing flag and tackle football her whole life and led Team Canada to an international championship.
Entertainment and Lifestyle
Innovation & Trends
Business & Management
TAGS & EXPERTISE
Leadership • Sports • Innovation • Workplace Culture • Diversity & Inclusion • Future of Work • Change Management • Team Building • Organizational Development
SPEAKING TOPICS
-
Sam Rapoport provides the blueprint for how the NFL went from no women in coaching, scouting, and officiating positions to rapid progress and record numbers. In 2024, the NFL now has more women in coaching roles than any other male professional sports league in the world.
Rapoport provides 5 key “sticky” takeaways that an organization can use to create change in any space of the business.
These strategies can be implemented to help any organization drive change. The audience will:
Ignite their passion to identify opportunities, and create change
Learn how the NFL achieved progress in such a short timeline
Learn how to apply these principles in your organization
Leave the session feeling inspired – like you could run through a brick wall
FEATURED VIDEOS