NFL players got the go-ahead Tuesday to compete in the new Olympic sport of flag football at the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles.
A resolution on player participation was approved unanimously during a National Football League meeting in Minneapolis, according to ESPN. The resolution needed the support of at least 24 of the 32 team owners to pass.
“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 news release from the league.
“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,” Goodell said.
Before the voted, ESPN had predicted the league would back an Olympic “Dream Team” for flag football citing unnamed sources including one who was quoted as saying, “Olympics should be easy.”
The details of pro athletes being part of the world’s next Summer Games still have to be worked out with the NFL Players Association and Olympic organizations.
According to ESPN, here’s what the flag football resolution would do, subject to negotiations:
• Allow any player under an NFL contract to try out for the Olympics.
• Set a limit of one player per NFL team on each national team participating.
• Also allow a team’s designated international player to play for his home country.
• Require the purchase of league-wide insurance policies to cover players injured while participating in an authorized flag football activity related to the Olympics.
• Give a salary cap credit for any player who is injured.
• Set the expectation that Olympic flag football teams will establish medical staffs and field surfaces that comply with NFL minimum standards.
• Call for a schedule that “does not unreasonably conflict with an NFL player’s league and club commitments.”
The International Olympic Committee added flag football to the LA Games in October 2023, along with baseball, softball, lacrosse, squash and cricket. Both flag football and squash, described by IOC leaders as “iconic American sports,” are making their Olympic debut.
Olympic flag football competition will consist of six men’s teams and six women’s teams made up of 10 players each, with a five-on-five format, according to the NFL. The sport is governed by the International Federation of American Football, which has members in 75 countries.
Goodell previously has called the inclusion of flag football “a great opportunity” for what’s considered America’s most popular sport to grow internationally. Teams already play regularly overseas to attract new audiences.
There’s at least one big-name NFL player ready to sign up for the Olympics: Minnesota Vikings running back Aaron Jones.
“Flag football players may be upset at me for this, but yes, I would absolutely love it,” Jones told ESPN. “Every other sport gets an opportunity to win a gold medal, and if you’re not serving your country in the military, I feel like that’s the other highest honor that you can represent your country in.”