On March 21, a delegation led by Tom Brady will stage a flag-football tournament in Saudi Arabia. Multiple NFL players will be participating.
As Brady tells it, it’s not going to be an exhibition or a publicity stunt.
“Honestly, this is, like, real football,” Brady recently said in an appearance on the Impaulsive podcast. “This is real competition.”
The conversation between Brady and Logan Paul seemed to be a fairly basic effort to hype the event by talking shit. Still, Brady’s comments shouldn’t be ignored, as it relates to the potential intensity of the game.
“I’m glad you’re gonna be there,” Brady told Paul, “and I’m glad you’re finally gonna participate in, like, a competition that matters.”
Paul then compared the game to the Pro Bowl. “It’s gonna be way better than that,” Brady said.
In reposting the clip, Brady said this: “I hope people understand the level of competition this game is going to be. If you’re on my team you’re going to be locked in, all out, and we’re going to not just win… but dominate.”
The NFL players, who surely had a hard time saying no to the multi-zero check they’ll be getting, may not have gotten the memo that they’re going to be expected to “be locked in” and go “all out.” There’s an injury risk to any type of football. The more “real” the football and the more “real” the competition, the greater the chance that someone is going to get hurt.
Possibly for that reason, Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels — who has been announced as one of the quarterbacks for the tournament — was equivocal when the topic came up during a recent visit to PFT Live.
“I don’t know yet,” Daniels said regarding whether he’ll be making the trip.
Daniels, of all potential players in the game, has the most to lose. Injuries limited him to seven games in 2025. He needs to be as healthy as possible for 2026, the last year before he’s eligible for a market-level second contract.
Yes, insurance is available for the players who will be participating in an event that jeopardizes their 2026 salaries, if they’re hurt while playing. (And if you think injuries during flag football don’t happen, we give you Robert Edwards.) But it’s one thing for Daniels to get his full $4.226 million salary for 2026 if he’s injured while playing flag football. It’s quite another for Daniels to miss playing time this year because of an injury that happens during an activity unrelated to his job.
It’s our understanding that the Commanders and all other teams whose players are going to Saudi Arabia are supporting the effort, in part because they feel compelled both to let their players get an extra bag and to defer to the league’s ongoing effort to make flag football a thing.
But Daniels said it himself: “I don’t know yet.”
After seeing Brady’s comments regarding how “real” the game will be, Daniels may quickly know what he’s going to do.
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