NFL, Flag Football Players to Get 'Same Opportunity' to Make Olympic Roster, Exec Says

The selection process for the U.S. flag football team at the 2028 Summer Olympics will not be favored towards current NFL players.

The sport is set to debut at the 2028 games in Los Angeles and the concept of the NFL stars sporting the red, white and blue on the international stage is something that has caused intrigue among fans. However, Callie Brownson, USA Football's senior director of high performance and national team operations, said that the team will be picked for the best players at flag football and NFL players will not have an advantage over current U.S. flag football players.

"The cool thing about our process is when you come out to trials, there is no name on the back of your jersey," Brownson said, per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times. "You get a number and you have the same opportunity to try out as the person next to you. ... We’ll just be excited to have the best team that we could but I always do and will always stand up for who we currently field."

This comes after current U.S quarterback Darrell Doucette had said that the current group deserves a shot due to the chemistry they have developed and that simply adding an assortment of NFL stars wouldn't necessarily create a better team.

He has slightly wavered from this, as it appears, and said that the focus should be on the current guys getting a "fair opportunity" and that he hopes they can develop a symbiotic relationship.

“We’re welcoming those guys,” Doucette said, per Nguyen. “We don’t have no issue with it. We just want a fair opportunity. We want those guys to come out and learn because there’s things that we’re going to need to teach them ... and there’s things that they can teach us. They can teach us how to run routes and how to cover and do other different things. So it’s not us vs. them or them vs. us. It’s us together as one teaching each other.”

The U.S. flag football team has been a dynasty in international play. The program has won six world championships as well as a gold medal at the World Games in 2022 and at the Americas Championship in 2023.

Adding Olympic gold for this group would certify their legacy but several NFL players have expressed desire to represent their country in a sport that closely resembles theirs. The NFL is allowing players to try out for the team even if it will disrupt training camp ahead of the 2028 season.

While it is still a bit away, it looks like the current group will have a fair shot at holding off the NFL stars as all hope to earn a gold medal for the U.S.