Prior to throwing a couple touchdown passes and nearly running for another during Saturday’s first Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow made it clear he wants to play for Team USA in Los Angeles during the 2028 Olympics. Flag football joins the summer program for the first time and the NFL has already voted to allow active players to participate.
‘”I’ve always wanted to play in the Olympics. I’ve never necessarily played an Olympic sport before, so when this got announced, I was pretty excited about it,” Burrow said prior to his Wildcats FFC team going 1-2 in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic round robin. “The opportunity to win a gold medal (is) something that I’ve thought about — a moment like that — for a long time, since I was a kid. I think it would be something very special.”
Burrow looked extremely competitive during the event, bouncing back from an early interception return for a touchdown with a couple head-turning plays against Team USA and Tom Brady’s Founders FFC to get to the final. Burrow nearly ran the length of the field for a touchdown on one call, avoiding contact near midfield before spinning his way out of a flag grab approaching the end zone.
Burrow raised eyebrows a couple times on collisions, noticeably crashing to the turf near the 1-yard line during the second half of a loss to Team USA. Burrow was immediately taken to the ground and his flag pulled after he caught a pass from Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels on fourth-and-goal, resulting in his pleading with officials.
Burrow wanted a penalty on the play against Team USA’s defensive back for contact, but didn’t get a whistle.
Rosters will be decided later
With nearly two years to finalize the 10-man roster for Team USA, not all spots are guaranteed to be taken up by NFL players. Darrell “Housh” Doucette, who has played quarterback for USA Football’s men’s national team since 2021, said last year his teammates felt “kicked to the side” by their professional colleagues and want fair treatment during the Olympics roster selection process.
Doucette made his presence felt Saturday with several highlight-worthy plays and is always threat to score in space, especially when he’s not making plays with his arm. One of flag football’s ambassadors helped Team USA torch both squads made up of NFL players and celebrities, going 3-0 in the round robin by a combined score of 106-44.
“The flag guys deserve their opportunity. That’s all we want,” Doucette told the Washington Post. “We felt like we worked hard to get the sport to where it’s at, and then when the NFL guys spoke about it, it was like we were getting kicked to the side. I felt like I was the guy who could speak out for my peers, for my brothers that’s been working hard to get to this level, for us not to be forgotten.”
Saturday was a barometer of sorts to see how amateur athletes would perform against former and current NFL players.
“This is a sport that we’ve played for a long time, and we feel like we are the best at it and we don’t need other guys,” Doucette said last year. “But we all have one goal in mind, and that’s to represent our country. We’re definitely open to all competition. If those guys come in and ball out and they’re better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country.”
Good news for Doucette and teammates is that USA Football will handle the selection process, not the NFL, according to Roger Goodell. There’s a good chance the finalized roster in 2028 will be comprised of NFL talent and flag football mavens.
