The NFL is Expected to Vote Today on NFL Players Competing in The 2028 Summer Olympics for Flag Football
ESPN - A vote on whether to allow NFL players to participate in flag football at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is expected to pass at Tuesday's league meeting in Minneapolis, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
The resolution needs to be approved by at least 24 of the 32 team owners. The league then will need to negotiate with the NFL Players Association, Olympic officials and national governing bodies on the specifics of letting NFL players participate.
The resolution on Olympic flag football participation is one of multiple items expected to be voted on this week. Owners also will vote on the Green Bay Packers' proposal to ban the controversial tush push play and the Detroit Lions' proposal to reseed playoff teams based on regular-season record, but sources told Schefter that those votes are not expected until Wednesday.
Although the fate of the tush push and playoff reseeding resolutions remained uncertain as of Tuesday morning, a source told Schefter that passing the resolution on the Olympic flag football participation "should be easy."
Devastating blow for Darrell Doucette and the rest of Team USA Flag Football. When Flag Football was first announced as a 2028 Summer Olympic sport, NFL fans everywhere began crafting their dream Team USA rosters. Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marrr Chase, Jahmyr Gibbs, Travis Hunter, Shedeur Sanders, Henry Ruggs, all the fastest, most legendary athletes the NFL will have to offer in the year 2028. But soon after the announcement, in a shocking twist, we learned that the United States already has an official flag football team. Nobody saw it coming. The men who have been working so hard to represent the United States on flag football's world stage were miffed at how the general public could believe there might be an NFL quarterback more equipped to lead Team USA than their own 5-foot-7, 140-pound Darrell "Housh" Doucette
Unfortunately for Darrell, his best hope for getting a chance to quarterback Team USA in the 2028 Summer Olympics (NFL owners being greedy bitches and refusing to allow their players to compete for injury reasons), is likely going out the window today. If what Adam Schefter is reporting is true, a source close to the vote says getting approval from at least 24 of the 32 NFL owners, "should be easy".
Darrell had made a compelling an argument for why he deserved a spot. Which you have to respect him for. He had to try. He's so close to backdooring his way into an Olympic gold medal he can taste it. And he's not wrong that flag football is a different game than tackle football. It's a shorter field, there's virtually zero physical contact, pulling flags is probably annoying as shit. But he lost me when he got into his whole, "They didn’t help grow this game to get to the Olympics" argument.
Yes they did Darrell. They popularized the sport of football as a whole. Do you really think flag football being added to the Olympics has nothing to do with the NFL being the most popular sport in the United States? A league that's now playing half their damn schedule in Europe? I know you're the guys who had to travel to play flag football games vs second-rate football nations in strip mall parking lots across the world. But that opportunity wouldn't even exist if it weren't for the NFL.
But it's not necessary over for the much smaller, much slower, much less athletic men who make up Team USA Flag Football as currently constructed. They NFL is like to pass a vote that allows their players to compete. But there are no guarantees that the best NFL players available will be automatically awarded with a roster spot.
Advertisement
The flag football resolution establishes rules and a basic structure for how the NFL hopes to see the process work, subject to negotiations with the NFLPA and Olympics-related entities. They include:
• Permission for any player under NFL contract to participate in tryouts
• A limit of one player per NFL team on each national team participating
• Allowing, in addition, a team's designated international player to play for his home country
• A purchase of leaguewide insurance policies to provide injury protection for any player injured while participating in an authorized flag football activity related to the Olympics
• A salary cap credit for any player who is injured
• An expectation that Olympic flag football teams will establish medical staffs and field surfaces that comply with NFL minimum standards
• A schedule that "does not unreasonably conflict with an NFL player's league and club commitments."
Obviously the world wants to see the best NFL players competing in the 2028 Summer Olympics. Even if the experience of current flag football players makes them a better overall team, most football fans would still be massively disappointed if Darrell "Housh" Doucette is the United States starting QB. Personally, I don't even think we should make NFL players earn their spots. They already have in my mind. However, if the NFL is interested in putting on the must see television event of Summer 2027, I have an idea that would put this whole argument to bed.
We simply need one winner-takes-all game between current Team USA Flag Football and the NFL All-Stars. Winner gets to represent our country at the Olympics. Play the game in the summer so the NFL All-Stars have some time to practice the rules of flag football. That game would sell out a +100,000 capacity stadium. It would be appointment television. Who says no to that?
Probably the NFL, I guess. I highly doubt the NFL would even allow it to get to that point. They don't want to risk it. At this point, I think Darrell's best chance at the Olympics is to be patronizingly selected to Team USA as a backup. Then maybe he'll get to play a second half against Croatia in pool play. Either that, or their whole team can find a new country. A country who will grant them citizenship without much trouble. Take Vanuatu for example.
That would be the most fun option. It would make for an incredible Gold Medal game. Team USA made up of NFL players vs Team Vanuatu made up ex-Team USA flag football players who feel they've been done wrong. It would give Olympic Flag Football some much needed competitive juice. If you're reading this Darrell, get Vanuatu on the phone right now. I'm sure you can some sponsors willing to pay your $130,000 citizenship fees. Honestly, Vanuatu might not even make you pay it. They've never won an Olympic medal before. Maybe they'll love the idea. You could be the people to bring it to them. You'd be heroes to a entire nation of 320,000 people (actually bigger than I thought). That would be awesome. Please do that, Darrell.