The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of sport for human beings. No matter what the sporting discipline, the Olympics are considered to be the top stage to gain global interest in your sport and introduce it to a group of fans who know nothing about it. That’s the idea that the NFL is going with for the flag football event taking place at the 2028 Olympics being held in Los Angeles. A proposal regarding the Olympics in LA will be voted on soon by the NFL team owners, which could bring even more attention to the sport of football. The flag football event at the 2028 Olympics could see some seriously talented players taking to the court.
What exactly will flag football at the Olympics look like in 2028?
The Olympic Games are the best way to get new fans for any sport. The world has seen what American sports have to offer and has adopted many of them with passion and love. The international support that sports like basketball have found is no doubt due to the Olympics and a certain “Dream Team” that amazed fans around the globe with their gold medal exploits.
Flag football is due to feature at the 2028 Olympics for the first time, and every single football fan is excited for the world to embrace the game of football. That is the ultimate goal, after all: to get more people playing and watching the sport. The NFL team owners are due to meet soon and vote on a long list of proposals. One of those proposals would have a direct effect on the popularity of the flag football event in 2028.
That proposal is that each team in the NFL will be allowed to allocate one professional football player to the US flag football team, in essence, creating a flag football “dream team” that would show the best of what the NFL and the sport have to offer. To be fair, the safety and security of the players is paramount in the teams’ concerns. So, how to navigate this?
What protection and insurance will the NFL players have against injuries?
The already mentioned one player per team policy will mean that if a player is of a different nationality, they also qualify for their country’s flag football team. For example, let’s say a player was born in Canada and moved to the US. He would then be eligible for selection for the Canadian flag football team, opening the Olympic event up to even more top-level players.
Another aspect is that the flag football event would need to have certain standards for medical staff as well as playing surfaces. With injuries being a major concern, it needs to be as safe as possible for the players. The Olympic event would also need to not interfere with the players’ NFL schedule, as the latter takes precedence in all situations. So, the player needs to be available first.
One last thing to consider, and it might just end up being the deciding factor, is insurance. Insurance coverage will be needed for all teams involved to protect players in the event of an injury as a result of the Olympic flag football event. As well as a salary cap credit amount allocated to any team that loses a player to a flag football-related injury. The NFL players are always concerned with their earnings, as they should be.
How successful will the flag football Olympic event prove to be in 2028?
With the new global fascination with the game of football, the sport has been forced to evolve and find new ways to bring more fans in. The expansion of basketball into countries like China and Spain has proven to the NFL that they have a huge untapped market to explore. To their credit, they are exploring nearly every avenue in that regard. The LA Olympics in 2028 promises to be one of the best yet, especially if the world’s sports fans get a taste of football being played by actual NFL players, albeit flag football.
