NFL owners officially voted in favor of NFL players trying out for flag football in the 2028 Olympics, something that has been brewing for this entire offseason. In a 32-0 vote, the league now lets players live out their dreams of getting an Olympic gold medal.
NFL owners have now officially approved a resolution to allow their players to participate in flag football in the 2028 Summer Olympics — 32-0. No surprise, but significant.
The NFL’s version of The Dream Team is coming. pic.twitter.com/UiqQ2HwrsI
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 20, 2025
While NFL players can try out and participate on Olympic flag football teams, there are some restrictions. One NFL player can compete for each country, meaning that there could be teammates that end up facing each other on different sides come 2028. Six countries will be represented in 2028 during the flag football games, which will be decided through qualifications on both the men’s and women’s side. These are the current top-10 countries in flag football on the mens and women’s side, the US at the top of both. Shoutout to Austria, flag football powerhouse.
Despite NFL players being allowed to play, many of the team USA flag football members think they’ll be fine without them.
US flag football QB Darrell “Housh” Doucette calls it “disrespectful” to assume NFL players will simply take Olympic team spots when the sport debuts at the 2028 L.A. Games
H/T @guardian pic.twitter.com/mnxQJD2IWw
— The Athletic (@TheAthletic) August 17, 2024
With this in mind, here are a few players that I think will be in heavy consideration for making the Olympic flag football roster for Team USA:
- Jayden Daniels, QB, Washington Commanders: Daniels gets the nod here over his contemporaries due to his dual threat ability and his age. Daniels will be 27 when the Olympics roll around, compared to Josh Allen (31), Patrick Mahomes (32) and Lamar Jackson (31). Daniels’ ability on the ground and to hit the deep ball should come in handy when we get to qualifying games
- Bijan Robinson, RB, Atlanta Falcons: Robinson or the Detroit Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs will be up for this spot, but I go Robinson here because watching him juke poor Swiss mechanics out of their shoes would be hilarious.
- Justin Jefferson, WR, Minnesota Vikings: Jefferson will only be 28 when the games roll around, and he was in attendance today as flag football got voted in, so he might end up becoming a team captain, let alone a player on the team.
- Ja’Marr Chase, WR, Cincinnati Bengals: Jefferson and Chase are the two best receivers in the NFL, and they both could end up competing for the only spot as the NFL player on Team USA’s roster.
- Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Jacksonville Jaguars: This one might be a bit premature, but when you have a player as unique as Hunter, it makes sense. He could play all over the field and has a near endless gas tank.
Who gets selected for Team USA and the qualification process will be fun to see unfold when we get to 2028.
