EAGAN, Minn. — NFL owners have unanimously approved permission for players to participate in flag football in the 2028 Olympics.
The vote at the spring meetings Tuesday authorized the league to negotiate safety provisions and scheduling logistics with the NFL Players Association, the sport’s international governing body and the relevant Olympic authorities before it becomes reality during the next Summer Games in Los Angeles.
The excitement throughout the league and momentum in global growth of the game have made this a seemingly inevitable advancement.
“I think the world finally has an opportunity to see the greatest athletes in the world participate,” league executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said.
No more than one player per NFL team would be allowed. The 10-player Olympic rosters will be selected by the national committee for each country, with six teams each in separate tournaments for men and women. The game itself is a five-on-five competition on a 50-yard field.
With the 2028 Olympics scheduled for July 14-30, the flag football gold medal game could be staged before teams report to training camp, a provision that NFL executive vice president of club business and league events Peter O’Reilly indicated already has received informal support. Tryout and training periods for the national teams also would fit in offseason quiet periods for NFL teams, O’Reilly said.
The flag football vote was a given. The hard part for league owners this week at the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel is determining the fate of the tush push.
After tabling the issue seven weeks ago, a vote was expected Wednesday on the proposal by the Green Bay Packers to prohibit the play popularized by the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. To enact the ban, 24 of the 32 teams must approve.
Commissioner Roger Goodell said last month he believes the owners will reach a consensus on the issue that involves both competitive integrity and player safety.
The league released a revised proposal by the Packers on Monday that broadens the language to prohibit pushing, pulling, lifting or encircling a runner by any offensive player, not specific to quarterback assists. The penalty is 10 yards. This is what the rulebook stated 20 years ago, until the ban was lifted because of the difficulty of enforcement.
Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie has been leading the defense of the play his team developed with the coinciding arrival of strong-legged quarterback Jalen Hurts in 2020.
The NFL has no conclusive data supporting a connection between the tush push and an injury risk increase, as Lurie noted at the previous league meetings in Florida. The Buffalo Bills are also a frequent user but favor a ban for safety, as coach Sean McDermott said after the vote was tabled.
The tush push, also dubbed the “Brotherly Shove” in a clever twist on the Greek-to-English translation of Philadelphia, not only assigns a player to push the backside of the quarterback for extra power behind a tight nine-man line but sometimes involves a blocker on the end pivoting to try to pull the ball carrier past the marker.
Health is only half of this debate, however. Entertainment is the other.
While the Eagles have nearly perfected the play for fourth-and-1 or 1-yard line situations with well-chosen personnel and well-rehearsed precision, it looks more like rugby than football.
The Packers, who lost to the Eagles in the first round of the playoffs last season, have been among several teams voicing their distaste for the evolution of the traditional quarterback sneak into an all-out scrum. On the memo distributed by the NFL on Monday, the reasons cited for the proposal are player safety and pace of play.
“It was controversial when the forward pass came out,” Lurie said at the last league meetings. “I think aestheticism is very subjective. I’ve never judged whether a play looks OK.”
Regardless of the fate of the play, the fairness and fun of it are sure to be talking points throughout the season, particularly leading up to the Monday night game on Nov. 10 when the Packers host the Eagles.
Both of those teams have a good chance to be in contention in the loaded NFC for the playoffs, which could unfold a little differently if a proposal by the Detroit Lions passes this week. Like the tush push, a vote was tabled at the most recent gathering for further discussion on altering the seeding rules to base the order strictly on overall winning percentage rather than guaranteeing division winners the first four spots in each conference.
In this case, division winners no longer would get the automatic home game as the Los Angeles Rams did in January after finishing 10-7. Though wildfires forced the game to be moved to Arizona, the Minnesota Vikings had to hit the road despite going 14-3, one game behind the Lions.
NFL owners also were considering from the competition committee several adjustments on the onside kick with the goal of increasing the recovery rate.