LOS ANGELES — Sean Payton and Kyle Shanahan spent a lot of time on the phone the past month, wondering exactly what they’d gotten themselves into.
The Denver Broncos and San Francisco 49ers coaches agreed to oversee teams for the Fanatics Flag Football Classic. Once their NFL playoff runs were over, they decompressed, then turned their attention to the side project.
Payton and Shanahan quickly realized this wouldn’t be a minor-league diversion.
“There was a period when I don’t know that we were getting anything done in free agency with the Broncos,” Payton said, “but we were figuring out this five-on-five thing.”
Casual football fans might scoff at the event, an exhibition featuring two squads of NFL stars and Team USA in a round-robin tournament Saturday at BMO Stadium. Fox Sports will televise. But for those who follow the sport, which will also be played here at the 2028 Olympics, the competition will go a long way to enlightening the debate.
Are the pros truly better than the Joes?
“The skill sets are similar,” event co-promoter and participant Tom Brady said Friday at a news conference. “The rules are quite a bit different. But really, it will be a great gauge for all these players and the players that will be participating in L.A. 2028 to see where we’re at and what we need to do in the next few years.”
The event began as a showcase in Saudi Arabia with current and former NFL players. Two weeks ago, organizers moved the event to BMO Stadium amid travel advisories related to the current conflict in the Middle East. The switch allowed for Team USA’s inclusion.
From the moment NFL owners approved player participation in the Olympics, fans and media have assembled Dream Team rosters loaded with star power and hardware while ignoring those who’ve made Team USA an unbeatable juggernaut. The Americans haven’t lost an International Federation of American Football (IFAF) tournament since 2018, winning by an average score of 50-17.
“They have everything to prove,” former NFL quarterback, flag football advocate and event co-commissioner Drew Brees said. “When it was first announced the 2028 Olympics were going to have five-(on)-five flag football, immediately everybody started talking about Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill. ‘Who are the NFL players that should represent Team USA and create the Dream Team for flag football?’
“And I’m sure all those (Team USA) guys were, like, ‘Wait a minute, now. We’re the best in the world at what we do, and nobody’s going to come take this from us.’”
Coach Sean Payton (left) and quarterbacks Jalen Hurts (center) and Tom Brady will be among the NFLers trying to take down the U.S. flag players. (Monica Schipper / Getty Images for OBB Media – FANATICS STUDIOS)
The pros will have a decisive edge in athleticism and size. After co-captains for the Founders (Brady and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts) and Wildcats (Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow) teams drafted their rosters Wednesday night at the Waldorf Astoria, Team USA was welcomed on stage for a photo op. A din of surprised chatter and stifled laughter broke out among the audience upon seeing the side-by-side disparity.
Team USA is expected by many to get the last laugh. Fanatics’ own sportsbook opened the amateurs as 6-point favorites against either pro squad.
“They’ve got a lot of speed over there, got the IQ of the game,” Hurts said. “We’re still trying to learn it, still trying to get that down.”
Olympic flag football is played on a 50-by-25-yard field. Because there will be four games, they will consist of 15-minute halves — instead of the usual 20 minutes — with a running clock.
Not only is this not tackle football, but contact is virtually prohibited. Saquon Barkley and Rob Gronkowski are hardwired to stiff-arm and body defenders. That’s illegal. So is “flag guarding,” which can be construed from regular running form. No blocks. No leaping over defenders.
“It is a different game,” Brees said. “These guys have continuity. These guys have chemistry. I think that’s definitely an advantage in this game. When you just look at the size difference, the smaller, shiftier guys, just because you’re there doesn’t mean you’re getting him down.”
“We want them to be at their best because we want to show it’s a different game,” says U.S. team quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette. (Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images for OBB Media – FANATICS STUDIOS)
Only seven defensive players are on the Founders’ and Wildcats’ rosters combined, whereas Team USA has athletes who specialize on each side of the ball.
Flag pulling is critically important and considered a frustrating skill to master. NFL players, especially bulkier dudes such as retired linebacker Luke Kuechly, will be at a distinct disadvantage trying to stop a skittering ball carrier who trained for hours to flummox defenders.
IFAF officials have been asked to call the games Saturday according to the flag rulebook that will be used in the Olympics.
“You can talk about the rules, read the rules,” Payton said. “But once all that film came in — I think I watched 17 games — you get a better appreciation of the nuances and just the art of grabbing a flag.
“It goes back to when you were a kid and one-hand touch. You’re getting skinny. You’re turning your hips. Anything to not get touched is essentially what you’re trying to do with these flags. Then you start to see multiple quarterbacks, then who’s the designated rusher?”
But old NFL norms don’t fade swiftly. At the Fanatics draft, running backs Ashton Jeanty and Barkley were the first two picks. Gronkowski was fourth.
That wouldn’t have been the case if Payton and Shanahan were the ones drafting. Antoine Winfield Jr., the 5-foot-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety, was the player Payton highlighted from Thursday’s practice.
“We’ll be going one-on-one with 10 people out there on a tennis court,” Shanahan said. “I really don’t know what’s going to happen.”
One variable that could impact the tournament significantly is ill-timed showmanship.
Team USA’s roster is intact and untouched, while the pro rosters include influencer Logan Paul, boxer Terence Crawford and YouTube creator iShowSpeed. Paul tried to manufacture drama Wednesday night by challenging Brady and Gronkowski to fights. Paul could derail an important possession with theatrics if a burr gets under his saddle.
“We want them to be at their best because we want to show it’s a different game,” said Team USA quarterback Darrell “Housh” Doucette, “and if they’re not giving 100, we can’t truly display what flag football is compared to NFL football. We know it’s going to take time for them to develop.
“We’re all here to show the world what flag football is all about and to get ready for the 2028 Olympics. These guys are putting on this event for us, so we’re giving it our all.”
Team USA has established the national program as the international standard. Although many on the team welcome the competition and a chance to rub elbows with NFL stars, they still want to represent their country and have a chance to earn Olympic gold in the sport they’ve dominated.
Saturday offers a chance they’ve been waiting for.
Asked what he’d tell casual football fans who might be tuning into flag football Saturday for the first time, Doucette smiled like someone who has never lost a game since he became the national team’s quarterback five years ago.
“Don’t underestimate the flag guys you don’t know,” Doucette said. “Don’t just go off the names. Those guys weren’t who they were before they made it to certain levels. We all were at the same point as little kids, growing up, playing football.
“Come at it with an open mind and be positive about the game because we’re here to showcase what five-on-five flag football is all about.”
