Soon, NFL players could be following in the footsteps of Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Larry Bird by becoming Olympic gold medal winners. League owners will discuss a resolution at next week’s league meetings that could allow NFL players to participate in the Olympics.
The 2028 Summer Olympics will include flag football for the first time, meaning there’s a possibility some of the biggest names in football could represent their country when the Games come to the U.S. in three years. Not only has the NFL been supportive in moving flag football forward, but Commissioner Roger Goodell also made it clear the league’s players want to compete.
“I’ve heard directly from a lot of players who want to participate and represent their country, whether it’s United States or the country that they came from,” Goodell said last month.
Naturally, there are several issues the league and the NFLPA will have to navigate. The question of how many NFL players will be allowed to participate in the Olympics is something that will be discussed, as will the new policies when it comes to injury protections and other details such as scheduling and even field surface. The bottom line is that the league believes NFL player participation in flag football during the Summer Olympics will support the growth of not only the game, but the global reach of the NFL as well.
Several NFL stars have previously expressed interest in playing flag football, including Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. The NFL’s Pro Bowl actually made the switch over to flag football for their All-Star Game beginning in 2023, and while the reception has been poor, flag football with stakes would be much more interesting — as is the case with the NBA All-Star Game and basketball in the Olympics.
Not everyone would be excited about this change. There are legitimate flag footballers who are expecting these roster spots. That includes Darrell “Housh” Doucette, who is the quarterback for the United States national team, and went viral for his comments about NFL players potentially taking the place of players who have done more to push their game forward.
“I think it’s disrespectful that they just automatically assume that they’re able to just join the Olympic team because of the person that they are — they didn’t help grow this game to get to the Olympics,” Doucette told The Guardian. “Give the guys who helped this game get to where it’s at their respect.”
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
