Since the announcement that the NFL’s ownership group would allow active NFL players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics’ flag football event, there’s been plenty of speculation on which players might find themselves representing the US of A. While Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes made it known that he had no intentions of playing, and Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill claimed he’d rather do track, there have been some players who have expressed interest. 
If Team USA is looking for a quarterback, it needn’t look past last year’s MVP. According to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, Bills quarterback Josh Allen is prepared to throw his hat in the ring. In a quote to the media, Allen made sure not to disrespect the current quarterbacks of the flag football community but claimed that he “would absolutely love to” play if the opportunity presented itself.
While we haven’t seen any other offensive weapons volunteer themselves to potentially play with Allen, Team USA has a few offers on defense. If they play their cards right, the country’s national flag football team could land the two cornerbacks that topped Pro Football Focus’s positional rankings in 2022.
The Jets released a video this week of star cornerback Sauce Gardner expressing his interest in playing. Gardner told reporters that he “definitely would be interested in…being able to play for (his) country.” The third-year cornerback had a relatively down year after two first-team All-Pro seasons to open his career, but I imagine Team USA would at least do their homework to see how he’d fit on the team.
If the Olympic team really wants to create a shutdown cornerback tandem, Broncos cornerback Patrick Surtain has also offered his services. According to Luca Evans of The Denver Post, Surtain spoke at an event for his foundation earlier this month and told the media he has “definitely high interest” in playing, calling the possibility a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Ultimately, it’ll be a couple years before we truly know who all could be participating. Each team will be able to send one player to the flag football tryouts whenever they take place. At the moment, it sounds like Allen, Gardner, and Surtain are making bids to be the representatives from Buffalo, New York, and Denver.
Can’t see ANY owner allowing an NFL player to be anywhere near this mess. I can see Burrow, Allen, Chase, Jefferson tearing an ACL and missing the season and and costing the team the playoffs or even a Super Bowl.
Maybe this is what all the crap that’s going on with Shemar Stewart is about. If a player decides to play in something like this and gets hurt the team may want the option to cancel their contract, especially if it’s not sanctioned by the NFL. Could be a test case for the Olympics.
They already voted unanimously to allow it lol
Ok, so I missed it.
Could still be a test case. If someone does decide to play and hurts themselves the teams could still terminate their contract with the language that’s in Stewart’s contract especially if they are a marginal player or someone hurts themselves bad enough to have miss more than a year. Owners voted to allow them to participate if they want to, but it’s still their decision to risk getting hurt. Burrow, Allen etc gets hit like Daunte Culpeper or Joe Theisman and they’re going to be out a long long time. Maybe the teams want the option to terminate the salary and let insurance take care of it. Personally I would side with Mahomes, it’s not worth it in the scheme of things. You’d be letting the entire team down for personal pride if you got injured. Send in the scrubs
Amazingly they write these articles to answer these questions. This one just so happened to be in the first sentence. I am one that feel many of these articles repeat themselves and have a word count to publish them. I admit I do not read every article word for word. When they seem to start repeating themselves and get boring I stop reading. I might be wrong only the MLBTRs writers and staff know. One thing I learned many many years ago. In the 70’s you will get most of the articles points in the first two paragraphs. Your question was answered in the first sentence. Not trying to be rude but read a paragraph or two. That might make it so you don’t look foolish.
Proton –As a person with a TBI sometimes I can read something and my brain doesn’t register the meaning or just totally skips sentences or even paragraphs. I do the best I can with what I have left to work with. Sorry if you need to point out my shortcomings to try to make me feel bad about myself. I really hope that you feel better about yourself for having pointed that out and that you never make a mistake so someone will never get the thrill of pointing it out to you. Have a nice day there Proton
If basketball and hockey do the Olympics and baseball has the WBC, this point makes absolutely no sense. Hockey also has world championships, 4 nation too. World competition is nothing but a boon that helps promote the sport worldwide.
If we’re going to have our professional players play against everyone else what does it prove? We have more and better professional players than anyone else. Isn’t that a known fact? Also, what other professional sport pays someone 50 to 6O million dollars for 17 games? Losing a Burrow or Mahomes is a lot more significant than losing a second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Whole seasons can be lost if a star QB or wide out gets hurt in some meaningless flag football game against Moldova.
There are apparently a number of flag football leagues in the U.S. with players are familiar with the “tricks of the trade”, so to speak. Put a team together along with qualified coaches who actually know the sport…let ‘em represent Merica.
Or even recruit Arena Players. How hard could it be to beat Zimbabwe or Bolivia in a flag football game.
😂😂😂
The same players who lost to Japan 41-20 last year? I understand that they may know the “trick of the trade” but they are still extremely unqualified when compared to NFL players. If you want to win, send the pros.
Can the Olympics get any sillier?
I’m going to wait and see if Antonio Brown makes the team before I answer that.
They already have. Break Dancing as an Olympic sport? Maybe in 1984.
“What’s the worst that could happen?”
-Robert Edwards
Great reference. A+
An article about flag football gets priority over the UFL championship game? If Goku were here he would cry 🙂
This guys name is sauce
Flag football and break dancing are in the Olympics but not Pickle Ball???
Is the Olympic Committee made up of the same out-of-touch numb skulls as the Rock and Roll HOF Committee?
When you have break dancers as skilled as the one from Australia they should be in the Olympics. I think it was Australia. I only saw highlights or lowlights of them. I would watch Afghanistan Sesame Street over Olympic Break Dancing. She was awful though. Even I could see that. She also was so disconnected she thought she was good.