NFL players are one step closer to participating in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Games.
League owners will discuss a resolution next week to allow NFL players to play in the flag football competition at the '28 Games. The sport will make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles.
In a statement issued Thursday by the NFL, the resolution would allow for no more than one player from each team to participate in Olympic flag football. Clubs would also designate an international player to participate for his country.
That could prove beneficial for Canada's national men's flag football program given the number of Canadian skill-position players currently in the NFL. That includes receivers Josh Palmer and John Metchie III, both of Brampton, Ont., (Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, respectively) and Jared Wayne, of Peterborough, Ont., (Texans), to name a few.
The idea of Canadian-born professional players representing their country in Los Angeles is an intriguing one. Two Canadian-born quarterbacks will be starting this season in the CFL -- Victoria's Nathan Rourke with the B.C. Lions and Tre Ford, of Niagara Falls, Ont., with the Edmonton Elks.
Also Taylor Elgersma, of London, Ont., last year's Hec Crighton Trophy winner who guided the Laurier Golden Hawks to the Vanier Cup, recently signed with the NFL's Green Bay Packers. And the head coach of Canada's men's flag football team is Paul LaPolice, a former CFL head coach.
There have been whispers of some CFL players being interested in playing for Canada in Los Angeles but nothing concrete has come about. The Olympics will be held during the CFL regular season.
But the CFL would welcome its players participating in the flag football competition in Los Angeles.
"It would be incredible to see CFL players compete at the 2028 Olympics," the CFL said in a statement. "Despite the challenge of the Games taking part midway through our season, participation remains our goal -- and the CFL is fully committed to finding a way to make it happen."
Both Canada's men's and women's flag football teams have yet to qualify for the '28 L.A. Games and have identification camps slated for later this month in Montreal. Football Canada executive director Kevin McDonald said while the immediate goal is to secure Olympic qualifications, the organization would welcome professional players being involved in the evaluation process.
"We’ve got a lot of work to do … before we contemplate the Olympics," he said. "We're in the early stages of building our program and we're looking to assemble the best athletes that give our team a chance to win at any given time.
"If the pro player situation gets resolved, then we'll evaluate those interested players when they become available and our coaching staff will have to make those decisions when the time comes. Having the pro athletes in the mix would be great for drawing attention to the program and they would intensify the competition for roster spots."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.
Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press
