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The NFL Is Set to Vote on Allowing Players to Play Flag Football in the 2028 Olympics

The NFL Will Discuss the Resolution to Allow Players to Participate

The Future Is Now

There will be plenty of NFL news next week at the owners’ meeting when multiple votes are set to take place. One resolution is to determine if players will be allowed to participate in flag football during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

 

NFL to Vote on Players in 2028 Olympic Flag Football
The Olympic rings | Elijah Nouvelage / AFP

A Huge Step

The league issued a note of interest in doing so. “Participation by NFL players in flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics … will support such growth and advance several league interests, including increasing fan and public interest in flag football, expanding the global reach of the NFL, and providing greater opportunities for fan engagement and for our league partners.

While that language would suggest the owners will likely approve this participation, it would still have to be on agreeable terms with the NFL Players’ Association and Olympic governing bodies.

Per NFL rumors, the league’s schedule could be 18 games by 2028, so player safety will be a consideration. The league has already issued some guidelines it would like to see followed if players do take part in flag football for the Olympics:

  • A limit of one player per NFL team on each national team participating.
  • Any player under an NFL contract can do tryouts.
  • A team’s designated international player can play for their home country.
  • The purchase of league-wide insurance policies for injury protection in case anyone was injured at the Olympics.
  • In the event a player is injured, the team will receive a salary cap credit.
  • The time spent at the Olympics also must not significantly interfere with any NFL schedule commitments.

 

That last point would have been difficult in 2024, given that the Paris Olympics ran into August and training camp season. But the 2028 Summer Olympics are scheduled for July 14 through July 30, so that could mean flag football concludes just before the start of training camps around the league.

While this is still over three years away from happening, many have already speculated about which current players could take part in this event. Miami wide receiver Tyreek Hill is known for his speed, and he has been linked to race challenges by streaming star IShowSpeed, a 2028 Olympic hopeful himself, while setting his eyes on racing Olympic medalist Noah Lyles.

Last Chance

Hill would be 34 years old by the time of the 2028 Olympics, so we’ll see if he’s still playing NFL games at the time, let alone at top speed to excel in a flag football setting. Others have suggested that Justin Jefferson (Vikings), Ja’Marr Chase (Bengals), and Xavier Worthy (Chiefs) would be interesting players to see participate.

The NFL has recently started experimenting with flag football during the Pro Bowl, which they first did in the 2023 season and have continued to do since, with mixed results from fans. But the flag football approach has been a way to make the Pro Bowl safer for stars.

Perhaps we’ll find out in 2028 if an all-star team of NFL players can win Olympic gold in flag football by beating out other countries who could theoretically spend years training a team with more chemistry to try to balance out the talent discrepancy.

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