John Francis Peters for The New York Times
As with any great American endeavor, women have been in football from the very beginning. As far back as 1926, women were playing the sport, albeit as halftime entertainment during home games of the Frankford (Penn.) Yellow Jackets. Since then, women have populated bandstands, infiltrated sidelines, officiated games, coached and owned teams in the National Football League, their ranks growing as opportunities and attitudes continue to shift.
Most notably, women have become a powerful — and sought after — consumer of the league, comprising about 45 percent of its fan base.