The NFL has partnered with the Maxwell Football Club for a Girls National Flag Football Player of the Year award, with a finalist from every NFL market.
The Steelers finalist is junior Shayln Brown from the Moon Area Tigers.
Brown was honored by the Steelers during the Christmas Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Brown has been the starting quarterback for Moon since her freshman year, and has also played wide receiver at times during her career.
In her sophomore season she led Moon to their first championship title. Moon is on a 27-game winning streak, and she has led them to back-to-back championships, winning 33 of 36 games, in the Steelers High School Girls Flag Spring season.
"The Pittsburgh Steelers are committed to growing the game of football for boys and girls across Western Pennsylvania," said Joe Lofton, the Steelers football development manager. "Shay quarterbacked the Moon Tigers to back-to-back championships in the Steelers Girls Flag Spring season.
"Shay, who was nominated by her coaches and teammates, demonstrates excellence on and off the football field, leadership amongst her teammates and commitment to her Moon Township community.
"Shay volunteers in her community to help grow flag football for the youth."
The Steelers continue to help grow girls flag football in the region and were instrumental, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, in supporting the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA) to sanction girls flag football as a high school sport.
The PIAA Board of Directors meet on Wednesday in Mechanicsburg, Pa., where girls' flag football was reviewed and approved on the third and final reading to be designated as a state sanctioned sport for the 2025-26 school year.
The PIAA required there be 100 teams playing the sport at the high school level in the state in order for the sport to be sanctioned, and thanks to the efforts of both professional football teams, as of last April there were 101 teams playing girls flag football in Pennsylvania.
The Steelers efforts started small with only six teams taking part the first season. Now, the number of teams sits at 36 in the Pittsburgh region and 100 plus in the state. Through sponsorship help from Nike with uniforms, to donations from the teams of equipment and more, the sport was able to grow by leaps and bounds.
The team has hosted a yearly Girls Flag Football Jamboree, Girls Flag Football Leagues, Girls Flag Football Championships and a uniform unveiling at Acrisure Stadium. And through the support of current and former Steelers players, the attention on the game has soared.
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The Player of the Year award will be presented annually to an outstanding player based on a criterion of on field performance, academic achievement and community service. This year, the Maxwell Football Club National Flag Football Player of the Year award will be presented at the 88th Maxwell Awards on Friday, March 14, 2025, at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, Georgia.
