The NFL is pushing to bring flag football to the 2028 Olympics
The NFL might finally get their wish of making football an Olympic sport. The only problem is, they will probably have to sell the soul of the game to make it happen.
Retired Eagles legend and current VP of Football operations Troy Vincent addressed that issue in a recent interview. Vincent talked about expanding football into more countries overseas and how the Olympics have become a key part of that strategy.
“That’s the ultimate goal to make flag football an Olympic sport,” Vincent told the Associated Press.
Vincent says flag football will be much easier to export to the world, for both men and women, than tackle football.
“When we talk about the future of the game of football, it is, no question, flag,” Vincent said. “When I’ve been asked over the last 24 months, in particular, what does the next 100 years look like when you look at football, not professional football, it’s flag. It’s the inclusion and the true motto of ‘football for all.’ There is a place in flag football for all.”
Flag football is honestly pretty boring and is much more fun to play rather than watch on television. It’s just a bunch of athletic, speedy wide receivers attempting to run past each other with little-to-no strategy or other athleticism involved.
I understand the NFL is concerned about the fact that football is an extremely violent game and turning to flag football would likely improve the long term negative effects that players endure after playing in the NFL. However, even with Vincent stating that the direction football is heading on every level thats “not professional” is flag football, I really don’t see how the NFL survives, even in it’s current watered-down state.
The NFL already started the process of turning the league into a flag football league and institutes new rules each year to protect players. At this point, you can barely touch an NFL quarterback without getting a penalty.
Not to mention, if you take away all contact at every other level of the sport, how will anyone even be prepared to play football at a professional level?
Any type of change happening over the next six years certainly seems rushed. Outside of the United States and Canada, no one really plays “professional football”. The world hasn’t accepted the NFL and I doubt that countries would be able to field and implement full rosters to compete in the Olympics in such a short timeframe.
I’m not sure if I like where any of this is heading. It looks like there’s a collective effort to change the game of football over to flag football and given the 2028 Olympics as a target date, it could happen sooner than later.
Mandatory Credit: Getty Images
