Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

NFL Owners Give Green Signal for Players To Participate in Flag Football at the 2028 Olympics

NFL players can officially compete for the Gold medal in flag football at the 2028 Olympic Games!

Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

NFL franchise owners are meeting for the second time this offseason to discuss the new rule changes for the upcoming season. This time, the owners are meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the Spring League Meeting from 20th May to 21st May.

There are three important topics for discussion and voting, which include the ban regarding the ‘Tush Push’ play, reseeding after the first round of the playoffs, and whether or not NFL players can partake in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics.

OFFICIAL: NFL players will be allowed to compete in Flag Football at the LA28 Olympic Games pic.twitter.com/Ki4ryK2FtY
— NFL (@NFL) May 20, 2025

NFL Players Allowed To Participate in Flag Football At the Olympics

During yesterday’s session, the owners decided to vote in favor of allowing NFL players to represent their countries during the flag football event at the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The next edition of the Summer Olympics is scheduled to be held in Los Angeles in several venues, with the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and the SoFi Stadium holding simultaneous opening ceremonies. The Olympics will run from July 14 to July 30, 2028, which is before the start of the NFL preseason.

Also Read: NFL Tush Push Ban – Andy Reid, Mike Tomlin, and Other NFL Head Coaches Share Their 2 Cents Ahead of the NFL Owners Meeting

As per sources, 24 of the 32 owners needed to pass the resolution, but the vote turned out to be unanimous, as all 32 franchises voted in favor of the motion. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell also lauded the decision of the team owners while also expressly talking about the honor it is for players to represent their country on a global stage.

“It’s an incredible honor for any athlete to represent their country in the Olympics, which is the pinnacle of global sport. I know firsthand 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.”

pic.twitter.com/Vm7IEtLdUA
— NFL (@NFL) May 20, 2025

Further Details on Flag Football in the Olympics

Flag football will be introduced to the Summer Olympics for the first time at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Flag football is a non-contact variant of American football where players have to remove the flags attached to a runner, unlike in American football, where players are tackled.

The L.A. Olympics will feature two different events, one for the men and one for the women. Overall, there will be six men’s teams and six women’s teams during the inaugural edition, and each team will comprise 10 players. The game will be played in a 5-on-5 player format.

As for the NFL players interested in representing their country, tryouts will be held well in advance. Each country participating in the event may select no more than one player from an NFL roster.

2028 Summer Olympics

Flag Football

NFL

Devavrat Kulkarni

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I am a content writer for the NFL team, and joined The Playoffs after working with Sportskeeda and NFL Analysis as an NFL writer. After starting my professional career as a French-to-English translator, working as a content writer is a new adventure for me. I started out in the sports media field for two main reasons: my love for sports in general, especially the NFL, NBA, and Tennis, as well as my passion for writing. The best part of this job is that I get to write a variety of pieces with the freedom to explore content from various angles. It also enables me to stay up to date with the sporting world, which otherwise can be difficult to do in the day-to-day grind. In a world full of chaos, sports unite and entertain like nothing else!