NFL says more than 200 players want to participate in Olympics (only 32 will be permitted to do so)

When it comes to NFL rosters, the supply of willing players far outweighs the demand. That same dynamic will play out as to the 2028 Olympics flag football competition.

During a Thursday conference call with reporters, NFL Senior Vice President, Global Flag Football, Brian Flinn said that more than 200 players have expressed interest in participating.

The league has previously decided to allow only one player per team to be on loan to the Olympic effort, which will cap the number of ultimately eligible NFL players at 32.

Six countries will participate in the flag football tournament; some NFL players will be eligible to play for countries other than the U.S., if those countries are in the tournament.

For the United States, the challenge becomes balancing career flag-football players and NFL players. For the NFL players who ultimately join the cause, they’ll need to sacrifice personal time for the qualification and/or training process.

USA Football expects to announce the specific procedure for naming the U.S. team by the end of 2026.