Patrick Mahomes could be an Olympian in 2028 after the NFL gave its players permission to try out for the US flag football team for the Los Angeles Games.
It means the $US450 million ($700 million) quarterback could add Olympic gold to his trophy cabinet, alongside his three Super Bowl rings, if the NFL’s most marketable man decides to try his hand at the five-a-side game.
Justin Jefferson, Tyreek Hill and Patrick Mahomes could all try out for the 2028 US Olympic flag football team.Credit: Graphic: Michael Howard, Monique Westermann
Flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028 and will consist of six men’s teams and six women’s team, with 10 players per squad, and five on the field at a time.
The NFL has been mulling over whether to let players try out for the past couple of years, but the motion was finally passed 32-0 at a meeting on Wednesday morning (Australia time), opening the door for the likes of $US140 million wide receiver Justin Jefferson or $US90 million Tyreek Hill to participate at a home Olympics.
However, only one player from each NFL team will be allowed to try out for the US team, which means some players may choose to represent a country of their heritage if it improves their chances of an Olympic debut.
Jefferson was present for the NFL’s announcement on Wednesday, and said he always thought an Olympic appearance was unattainable.
“To be honest, I’m just at a loss [for] words,” he said. “Seeing the amount of kids that are really involved in this sport, seeing the women and men being involved, and seeing it now being on a global stage is something that is so special.
“Even though it’s three years down the line, and they’re still planning who is going to be on the team and all, but just to think about the chances of playing in an Olympics and getting a gold medal is a dream.
“Just reverting back to being a kid and watching the track and field meets, watching basketball win the gold medal, so that’s something that as a kid I always wanted to be a part of, but football wasn’t global. So now that we’re expanding the game and we are going more globally, it’s pretty cool, it’s pretty cool.”
American Football Australia chief executive Wade Kelly said the NFL’s decision would be a boost to the game globally.
“It’s huge, right?” he said. “It is absolutely phenomenal to have global superstars available to play in a flag football team in LA. It’s only going to incentivise people to strive to be in their own national teams and be at that Olympic Games.”
However, he doesn’t believe the move will guarantee the US will win the gold medal, despite the country having a surplus of multimillion-dollar talent.
“I don’t think so,” Kelly said. “I think flag is a very different game to tackle football, and sure they’re phenomenal athletes, but there is going to be an adjustment period.
“I dare say it won’t be the whole team [of NFL players]. I would think that there’s some great flag-specific athletes that are not in the NFL in America that will be there. But I think when you look at the game of flag football, I think there are athletes from a lot of different sports that will thrive.”
The Australian flag football teams will head to the US in June for an invitational tournament, which will be an opportunity to learn from the US, whose men’s and women’s teams are ranked No.1 in the world.
When asked whether he would like to see a similar move from the NRL or AFL, Kelly said athletes had already expressed interest.
“We’ve already got a lot of interest [from players],” he said. “Quade Cooper has just been named in our Australian men’s team. There’s a huge amount of interest to play. I think this is only going to incentivise it more on the men’s side of it in particular.”
