Mielle Organics has scored big again. And, this time, the win is happening both on and off the field. The beloved Black-founded, woman-led brand is now the first official textured hair care partner of the NFL. This milestone marks a moment that redefines beauty, sports, and the cultural power of women who have always shaped both.
With nearly half of NFL fans in the United States now being women, and with Gen Z and millennial women showing record-high favorability toward the league, the timing of this partnership could not be more in sync with where the culture is headed.
“We’re honored to be the first textured hair partner of the NFL through our partnership with P&G,” says Founder and CEO Monique Rodriguez. “This moment means everything. When I started Mielle at my kitchen table, I couldn’t have imagined partnering with an organization as iconic as the NFL,” she says. “To see textured-haircare represented on a stage where women—especially women of color—have been present but not always centered is a full-circle moment for me and for our community.”
Brand President Omar Goff calls the partnership both historic and overdue. “This partnership is a historic moment for Mielle and for the textured-hair community,” he explains. “To become the first textured-haircare brand to partner with the NFL—an organization whose audience is now nearly half women—is powerful.,” he adds. “As a brand built by and for women of color, stepping into a space where women’s presence and influence are rapidly expanding feels aligned and overdue.”
Football has always lived in the heart of Rodriguez and Goff’s world. Mielle’s presence in the league isn’t just symbolic—it’s functional. Textured-hair athletes face intense sweat, friction, dryness, and breakage under helmets. Mielle’s performance-ready formulas were created to tackle those exact conditions.
“Beauty and sports are both about confidence, performance, and preparation,” Goff says. “Whether you’re on the field or in the stands, how you feel influences how you show up. We’re bridging the gap expanding education and access to high performing products through athletics.”
Rodriguez adds that beauty plays a role long before kickoff. “For so many of us, football represents family and community. It’s attending cookouts, tailgates, reconnecting with family and friends, and showing up in your favorite team colors,” she says. “And for millions of fans, that includes twisting, braiding, and caring for your textured hair before kickoff.”
The partnership itself came together through shared alignment and intention with Mielle joining P&G’s Head & Shoulders, who’s been a longstanding NFL partner for over 10 years. “The NFL is being intentional about amplifying women, whether through female executives, players’ families, or the growing number of women who tune in every week,” says Rodriguez. “Mielle has always been intentional about uplifting women of color. When both sides realized the opportunity to create something groundbreaking for women with textured hair, everything aligned naturally.”
Goff notes that this new chapter will bring even more visibility and storytelling forward. “We’ll be centering female voices from players’ families to women leaders across the league,” says Goff. “At the same time, we’re using this partnership to deepen our connection with men—players and fans—who also rely on textured-hair solutions and deserve representation in this space. We want men to see Mielle as a brand that supports their grooming needs with the same care and credibility.”
The partnership launch is already supported by a social-first moment featuring a viral “Passing the Phone” campaign with players, executives, agents, families, and on-air talent, all celebrating the way men and women show up authentically—on and off the field.
And while this marks Mielle’s debut in the NFL, the brand is far from new to sports. From historic partnerships with the WNBA and the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, to supporting HBCU athletic programs. This includes the likes of Hampton University Basketball, Howard University Swim & Dive, Florida A&M Cheer, and North Carolina A&T Track.
By stepping into the NFL ecosystem, Mielle is ushering in a cultural shift that acknowledges textured hair not as a niche category but as a central part of identity and community. Conversations that once happened behind the scenes—about coils drying out under helmets, braids frizzing from sweat, or how to keep curls hydrated on game day—are finally being uplifted, validated, and supported at the highest level of sports.
This partnership is bigger than football. It’s a necessary acknowledgment that textured hair belongs everywhere. And with Mielle on the roster, the culture is not just being represented—it’s being celebrated.