Blogging The Boys
Flag Football at the Olympics will be a lot of fun to watch.
On Tuesday at the NFL Owners meetings in Minneapolis, the owners passed a resolution, 32-0, that will allow league players to participate in flag football during the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A big surprise is that this new resolution passed with zero opposition, considering the risk of injury that could be on the table for some of the club’s star players. Financial safeguards will be in place in case that were to occur, which could be why owners felt comfortable passing the legislation.
The NFL has been preparing for this for a long time, particularly by transforming the Pro Bowl into a multi-day event that culminates with a competitive flag football game. This version of the Pro Bowl has attracted more viewers than the fading format of the original game, but being in front of a global audience changes everything. Furthermore, the NFL has made efforts to promote the game abroad on a larger scale with 11 international games in 2025.
This opportunity for players comes with one major stipulation:
A maximum of one player from each team will be allowed to participate, and each club’s designated international player is also permitted to take part for his country.
For the Dallas Cowboys, there are a ton of candidates who could have the chance to play in the 2028 Olympics. Who will be the best choice?
Not to play buzzkill, but there is one quick reminder: The games will be played in 2028, which is still three years away, so age, contracts, and player importance will be considered.
There might not be another player in the league who wants to play in the Olympics more than Micah Parsons. The Cowboys' All-Pro rusher posted on X (formerly Twitter) last summer with the desire to do something in the 2028 Olympics. He did not mention flag football as an option, but that would be the obvious choice.
Parsons is as athletic as they come, and in flag football specifically, it’s more about how athletic the players are than how strong they are. He has experience playing offense since high school and could be used in various ways.
The ideal spot would be used on defense to rush the quarterback. By 2028, Parsons could be a few years into his record-setting contract extension. Would the front office be willing to risk something happening to the leader of their defense? As far as brand exposure is concerned, Parsons would bring that.
As far as practicality is concerned, Turpin checks many boxes for what the USA flag football team will be looking for in a player. Turpin certainly has the speed, but he also demonstrated during the Pro Bowl last year that he could be a secret weapon as a blitzer.
Turpin has been an All-Pro special-teams player, but he took his offensive skills to another level...
