Roger Goodell, the Commissioner of the National Football League (NFL), fully expects NFL players to participate in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. During his appearance on ESPN’s Women’s Sports Now show on Thursday, Goodell was asked if he could see any current or former NFL players winning an Olympic medal. 

“Absolutely,” replied Goodell. “We approved it a year ago, and I’ve had a lot of players that have said we want to participate in that. It sets up really well because it’s before camp. It would be the first week of the Olympics.”

Flag football is set to make its Olympic debut in two years. Goodell added that active and former players approved by the NFL could compete in the Olympics. 

“These players are competitors and they love the big stage,” added Goodell. “To win a gold medal or any medal is something I think they would all treasure. They talk about it all the time, so I believe we’re going to have players in the Olympics - active players and probably some retired players.”

Mirroring the NBA's historic "Dream Team" model, the NFL will permit one active pro star per franchise to chase Olympic gold.

Per Mike Florio of NBC Sports, the NFL players must first be selected by the U.S. men’s national flag football team. The players who want to compete must be willing to make the needed time commitment. For now, there’s no confirmation as to how many of the training sessions will conflict with the offseason workouts in the NFL.

With the USA Football most likely announcing its Olympic selection procedures later this year, it’s yet to be seen which active/former NFL players make the cut. 

Fans of the NFL have objected to this move of leading NFL players to the Olympics in flag football.

Fans Criticize the NFL for Asking Players to Play Flag Football

NFL fans haven’t reacted positively to the news and have criticized Goodell. They took to the comment section of ESPN on NFL to express anger over the league’s move. 

“This is so stupid. Nobody watches flag football unless they’re kids,” wrote one fan. 

The fan dismissed the idea entirely, arguing that flag football lacks mainstream appeal and interest among players like those in the NFL. 

“Stupid. Never forget what happened to Robert Edwards. Patriots rookie running back had a phenomenal rookie season… destroyed his knee playing beach football at the Pro Bowl. Never played again,” commented a fan. 

Another user added, “Two words. Robert Edwards.”

These fans looked back on the case of Robert Edwards, the first-round pick of the New England Patriots during the 1998 NFL Draft. Edwards tore his knee during Pro Bowl week in Hawaii during a rookie football game and never played again.

“At whose expense? The people on flag football teams - certainly at the national levels - work hard, and now they’re just going to be wiped out by an NFL player? Bad PR.”

The fan argued that including NFL players meant taking away opportunities from players who have trained themselves for flag football for years. 

Another fan commented along the same lines, saying, “Let the flag football guys get the opportunity to win a medal. Not right doing this to them.”

From player safety to fairness in the games, many fans highlighted these concerns along with the lack of appeal. With Goodell’s remarks about NFL players in flag football, fans remained unconvinced that this would be the right move. 

Do you think adding flag football to the Olympics is a good move?

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Written by

Naomi Grace

Edited by

Zaid Quraishi