The NFL just added another wrinkle to its summer calendar — and this one comes with a fair amount of gold attached to it. Owners have approved a measure allowing players to participate in the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, where flag football will officially debut as an Olympic sport.
Flag football is a finesse-heavy version of the game. No pads, no tackling — just quickness, vision, timing, and pure skill. It’s backyard football with world-class athletes. It won’t be long before the Olympic committee starts crafting its ideal Team USA roster, and there’s no debate about who’s going to top that list.
Lamar Jackson is the blueprint. The Baltimore Ravens quarterback is everything flag football teams drool over: shiftiness, creativity, elite speed, and the ability to make something out of nothing. There’s just one small problem. His head coach already wants no part of it.
Lamar Jackson is an automatic lock for Team USA's flag football squad
Harbaugh didn't mince words when speaking about Lamar in the Olympics:
“I’m afraid I have a quarterback that’d probably be pretty good at [flag football], so, no, I’m not that excited about that in all honesty,” John Harbaugh said this week. “I believe in America. I want gold medals, but…”
It’s not hard to see where Harbaugh’s coming from. Jackson is the engine of the Ravens’ offense. Taking him away during camp for Olympic prep — and exposing him to even minimal injury risk — is enough to make anybody nervous. But if the committee gets the green light to recruit NFL stars, there’s no version of this where Jackson isn’t at the top of their list.
He’s essentially been made in a lab for this. The most electric player in league history is more than elite athleticism — he brings the kind of instinct and improvisation that flag football thrives on. He’s the most elusive player in the NFL, routinely turning broken plays into 20-yard scrambles or impossible throws. Pulling flags off Lamar Jackson might be harder than tackling him.
And the accolades speak for themselves. Two-time MVP. All-time rushing leader for quarterbacks. Over 4,000 passing yards and 41 touchdowns in 2024. Jackson is the exact archetype you’d want to dominate flag football. There’s nobody else quite like him.
That’s what makes this entire situation tricky. The Olympics represent a major global opportunity for football. The NFL is backing the event. Players will want in. But the Ravens — and likely a dozen other teams with stars on the roster — might start holding their breath.
Jackson is a walking highlight reel. He’s going to be asked. He might even be tempted. And if the Olympic dream starts to clash with the Ravens’ title window? There won’t be a simple answer.
For now, the decision is still years away. But with flag football officially on the Olympic map, the Lamar conversation will undoubtedly heat up. And based on the reaction from Baltimore’s head coach, that fire’s only just getting started.