Flag football was added as an Olympic sport last month
Flag football is coming to the Olympics, and the two-time NFL MVP wants in.
In October, the International Olympic Committee added five sports for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, with flag football making the games for the first time.
The LA28 Olympic mural by Artist Steven Harrington is displayed on the corner of Stanley Street and Sunset Boulevard on September 1, 2020, in Los Angeles, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was asked whether he would be interested in playing ahead of his team’s matchup with the Miami Dolphins in Frankfurt, Germany.
“NFL football, American football, has taken to further parts, all the way across the world, with flag football coming to the Olympics. I think it’s really cool, because football is a great game that has given me so much, and I want to make sure everyone gets the same experience that I got growing up,” Mahomes said at a news conference, according to the Olympics website.
“I definitely want to, but I’ve seen some of those guys play the flag football, and they’re a little faster than I am,” he said. “I know there’s not, like, linemen blocking for you. I’ll be 31, 32 years old, so if I can still move around then, I’m going to try to get out there and throw the football around maybe in LA. Just don’t tell Coach Reid or [general manager Brett] Veach or anybody,” he joked.
Patrick Mahomes talks to the media during a Kansas City press conference at DFB Campus on November 3, 2023, in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. (Alex Grimm/Getty Images)
Flag football was added to the 2028 games along with cricket, baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell congratulated the International Federation of American Football for the achievement of getting the sport approved.
“It’s a tremendous honor for any athlete to represent their country at the Olympics,” he said in a statement. “We have no doubt that this decision will inspire millions of young people around the world to play this game in the years ahead.
A digital display shows the game of Flag football for its feature as one of five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, during the second day of the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Mumbai on October 16, 2023. (INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP via Getty Images)
“The NFL is committed to working together to strengthen flag football’s place in the Olympic movement long-term, and we look forward to continuing this exciting journey with IFAF, the LA28 Organizing Committee, the International Olympic Committee and USA Football.”
Shortly after the announcement that flag football would be a sport at the Olympics, NFL executive Peter O’Reilly said the league would work with players and the players’ union in order to clear a path for NFL players to compete.