NFL Embraces Olympic Flag Football But A Major Question Remains Unanswered
NEW YORK -- The NFL loves flag football. I mean, really loves flag football.
And flag football in the Olympics?
As they say in certain parts of this town, Fuhgeddaboudit.
But the NFL has a major decision to make in the five years between now and 2028 when flag football becomes an Olympic sport: Will the league allow its players to compete?
There are already players who would love the idea of winning an Olympic gold medal. Rob Gronkowski is in. So is Tyreek Hill.
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"You know how amazing it would be to assemble a super team just to compete in the Olympics, man," Tyreek Hill said recently. "That would be amazing."
The NFL isn't rejecting the idea. It acknowledges it plays a pretty high caliber of football -- wink, wink. And it knows some players would love the idea of winning a gold medal.
But the league on Tuesday could not give a full-throated endorsement to its players becoming Olympians.
"Clearly in the leadup to the announcement and yesterday there was a lot of excitement, as you might expect, both current and former players, NFL legends who love the idea of representing our country on an Olympic stage," said Peter O'Reilly, the NFL's executive vice president for club business and major events. "That is the pinnacle of sport globally.
"We'll continue over the stretch ahead, obviously we're one day out from the announcement, so we'll continue to work with the players, the Players Association and our 32 clubs. Ultimately that decision on the makeup of team USA is a decision of USA Football, the national governing body, or governing bodies around the world in similar roles."
If that doesn't sound totally reassuring, it's because it is not.
Flag football could be an Olympic sport come 2028. (Getty Images)
Obstacles Before NFL Players Can Compete
To allow players to be involved in Olympic competition, clubs would have to approve letting them do so and that is a contract question. Also there are questions about the possibility of injuries despite the fact flag football does not include contact.
And there is a timing issue as well. The Los Angeles Olympics are scheduled for July 14-30.
NFL teams typically open training camps the final week of July so there could be schedule conflicts. So the league will begin conversations with ownership and clubs to address this question.
But I don't care about any of that. If there's going to be a world flag football tournament, the United States of America must win it.
We invented the dang sport.
Other countries call it American Football for a reason.
And the only way to put the best team America can gather in the tournament is to allow our greatest players to compete. Those guys play in the NFL.
O'Reilly would not or could not say that.
"We think it's a great opportunity because the player interest is real and palpable so I think there's a desire to work through with the stake holders to get that outcome for July in a window that is at least in the first week prior to the veteran reporting date," O'Reilly said.
NFL executive vice president Peter O'Reilly briefs the media on NFL and Olympic flag football
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But?
"I think that this proposal, IFAF's proposal and what L.A. 2028, the IOC put forward was not predicated on NFL players," he added. "It is clear the athletes in our game are at the highest level of our game and we'll work towards that. But having first hand watched the World Games ... there's incredible talent across the world having watched that USA-Italy game in the Gold Medal game.
"There's incredible talent out there. As I said, there's a desire to work through the process of NFL as part of L.A. '28. But I would never discount the talented flag football players playing that discipline of our sport today at a high level."
The NFL better make this work. Allowing its players to compete would increase the national interest in the competition.
Not allowing NFL players to compete would be a disservice to the legitimacy of flag football in the Olympics.