NFL owners voted Tuesday to approve active players representing the United States (or their home countries, if not the US) to compete in flag football in the 2028 Olympics, to take place in Los Angeles. The measure passed by a 32-0 vote, per multiple reports.
As written about here two months ago, this was the only viable option to aid the NFL's stated goal of expanding the game of football domestically and abroad. If the NFL is to use LA 2028 as the NBA did Barcelona 1992, football's version of the Dream Team would have to be an actual Dream Team.
Sending active players will pay dividends long before and long after the actual 2028 Olympic dates of July 14-30. For starters, jockeying for roster spots on the US team starts now. ESPN's Jeff Darlington said Tuesday that Patrick Mahomes wants to play. Of course he does. The opportunity to be the first quarterback to win a gold medal is a true once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for this generation of players, and it will be the ultimate trump card in future bar room arguments. Why does Mahomes want to be the QB1 on Team USA in 2028? So Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts can't be. Will Justin Jefferson be the WR1 on Team USA, or will it be Jeremiah Smith? Tuesday's vote turns the next three seasons into a tryout process, and free publicity for the LA Olympics and the NFL itself.
There are going to be countless ancillary benefits of getting flag football in the LA Olympics, but the only way for the NFL and the game of football at large to truly capitalize on the moment would be by sending Arch Manning, not Eli Manning.