NFL teams will allow players to participate in the Olympic debut of flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Games under a set of conditions.
“It’s an incredible honor for any athlete to represent their country in the Olympics, which is the pinnacle of global sport,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in a press release. “I know first-hand that the inclusion of flag football in the Olympics has sparked a tremendous amount of excitement among NFL players interested in the chance to compete for their country on the world stage. We are thrilled that they will now have that chance.”
The resolution — approved Tuesday by a 32-0 vote — means the NFL will now work with the NFL Players Association, the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) and relevant Olympic authorities to implement rules governing the participation of NFL players at the 2028 LA Games.
The NFL conditions proposed last week stated that no more than one player per NFL team can play at the Olympics, in addition to each NFL team’s designated international player.
There will be 60 total men’s flag football players at the LA Games — 10 for each of the six teams.
The Olympic flag football schedule also must not “unreasonably conflict” with a player’s NFL commitments.
The LA Games run from July 14-30, 2028. NFL preseason training camps typically open in mid-to-late July with preseason games starting in early August.
Though the league is on board, both the IFAF and USA Football would also have to approve for NFL players to become Olympians in 2028.
International federations such as the IFAF create Olympic eligibility rules that are then approved by the IOC.
When asked this week about Olympic eligibility rules for NFL players, the IFAF noted that previous international flag football experience is not a requirement in its current eligibility rules for overall competition. Specific eligibility rules for all 2028 Olympic sports have not been published.
“The National Football League is home to the biggest stars in American football, who come from more and more countries, and now have the opportunity to shine on the greatest stage in world sport, showcasing everything that makes flag football a genuine worldwide phenomenon,” IFAF president Pierre Trochet said in a press release. “IFAF’s 75 national federations join me in thanking our NFL partners for this further demonstration of their commitment to flag football in the Olympic movement. We will work together to ensure our sport contributes a defining element of LA28’s success.”
National governing bodies, such as USA Football, then decide how Olympic rosters are formed in team sports. USA Football has not announced how it plans to pick its team, including whether it would prioritize its established, world championship-winning flag players over NFL players.
“USA Football has had extensive discussions with the NFL on the potential of player participation, and we’re thrilled to see those efforts become a reality,” Scott Hallenbeck, CEO and Executive Director of USA Football, said in a statement. “As the National Governing Body of American football, we have a tremendous responsibility ahead of us — selecting, training and leading the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Teams for LA28.
“We’re fortunate to have a talent pool that already features prominent flag football stars who have helped USA Football establish a gold-medal standard in international competition. Including players from the NFL only strengthens our ability to build the best U.S. Men’s National Team possible and achieve our ultimate goal for LA28: to bring home two gold medals in flag football.
“We will continue to develop our high-performance plan that guides the creation of our National Teams. We look forward to working with the NFL on the specific opportunities that NFL players can use to showcase their skills and become eligible for selection to Team USA.”
The U.S. won the last three men’s world championships in 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021 and 2024 without NFL players. The next worlds are in 2026.
NFL stars who expressed interest in Olympic flag football in recent years include Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill. In an NFL promo published last August, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts is seen throwing a flaming football into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to light the Olympic cauldron.
“It’s our turn,” Hurts said at the end of the spot that promoted men’s and women’s flag football’s overall Olympic inclusion.
In international flag football, teams have five players at a time (no traditional offensive and defensive lines) on a 50-yard field that is also narrower than NFL size. There are two halves that are 20 minutes each.
At least 44 players who played in an NFL regular season game have competed in the Olympics in sports other than football, according to a group of Olympic historians known as the OlyMADMen.
Most recently Devon Allen in track and field in 2016 and 2021, Jahvid Best in track and field in 2016 and Nate Ebner in rugby in 2016. Most notably, Bob Hayes is the only person to win a Super Bowl and an Olympic gold medal, taking the 100m at the 1964 Tokyo Games and playing on the Dallas Cowboys’ title team in the 1971 season.
The 2028 LA Games could be one of if not the greatest collection of global sports stars in history.
“It’s something we think about every day, and I don’t think you could have done it without having NFL players able to compete in the Olympics in LA,” LA 2028 chairperson and president Casey Wasserman said by phone.
Los Angeles was awarded the 2028 Olympics by the IOC in 2017. Wasserman said that LA 2028 organizers began considering flag football’s Olympic inclusion, among other sports, around 2019 or 2020.
In 2023, the IOC approved the addition of flag football, baseball, softball, cricket, lacrosse and squash for the LA Games under rules that allow hosts to propose adding sports for their editions of the Games only.
In addition to NFL player possibilities, Major League Baseball could allow active big leaguers to participate in the Olympics for the first time. MLB hasn’t announced its decision yet. Baseball was on the Olympic medal program from 1992 through 2008, plus at the Tokyo Games in 2021.
“We continue to have, both with the union and the league (MLB), great conversations,” Wasserman said. “Obviously, their complexity is it requires them to shut down the season, or take players out of competition during the season for a period of time. So there’s a level of complexity that doesn’t exist for the NFL, but the conversations have been great. I think this just continues to show how really there is no opportunity like this for any sport in the world. I think Major League Baseball fully understands that, and we continue to engage with them to hopefully get to a good result where it’s our goal to make a similar announcement with baseball in the near future, if we can.”
Active NBA players have been in the Olympics since 1992 and WNBA players since that league’s inception in 1997.
The world’s best women’s soccer players have participated in the Olympics since 1996. Men’s Olympic soccer teams are mostly for players 23 years and younger with three over-age exceptions.
The world’s best golfers have participated in the Olympics since that sport returned to the program in 2016 and are expected to do so again at Riviera Country Club for LA 2028.
Flag football has found a home for its Olympic debut in 2028.
Read the full article here
