FLAG football is set to make its Olympic debut in Los Angeles in 2028.
Ever since the news was announced of its addition, NFL stars such as Tyreek Hill of the Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts have been linked with the Olympic team.
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In a recent appearance on Kay Adams’ FanDuel TV show Up And Adams, 2016 NFL MVP Matt Ryan was asked for his dream flag football lineup for the Olympics.
However, in a twist, he was asked to pick from both current and former players at their peak.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Ryan selected seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady to play quarterback.
This decision in itself was somewhat ironic given Brady was to blame for the New England Patriots’ historic comeback at Super Bowl LI from 28-3 down against Ryan’s Atlanta Falcons.
Both the audience and Adams couldn’t hold back their laughter, with Ryan conceding, “He was really good. He was really very good.”
At wideout, he kicked off with one of the all-time greats in Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
Next was “Atlanta’s finest” Calvin Johnson – also known as “Megatron.”
Opting against a slot receiver, Ryan went for former teammate Julio Jones, explaining, “I can’t not choose him.”
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“And now we know who your favorite was,” joked Adams.
At tight end, he went for the first player on the list who is currently on a team with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce.
Finally, Ryan had a surprise pick for running back, opting against any of the greats to instead select someone who he believes “by 2028 might be one of the best in the league” in second-year Falcons star Bijan Robinson.
“I mean, tell me who you want in space over him in the NFL right now,” Ryan added.
Adams later retweeted the segment with a nod to Brady, commenting, “Warm up that arm Tommy.”
The discussion surrounding NFL stars heading to the Olympics has proved controversial of late.
USA flag football quarterback Darrell Doucette recently hit headlines after claiming it was “disrespectful that [NFL players] just automatically assume that they’re able to just join the Olympic team because of the person that they are.”
California dream
America will officially be the next summer Olympic host when this year’s Paris games come to an end.
Los Angeles will become a three-time host city when it stages the games in July 2028, joining London and Paris in doing so.
The US has previously hosted four summer Olympics and eight overall.
The historic Coliseum and brand new SoFi Stadium will feature heavily in LA’s staging of it’s third Olympic Games in history.
“They didn’t help grow this game to get to the Olympics.
“Give the guys who helped this game get to where it’s at their respect.”
Doucette later explained that he wants NFL players to have to go through a tryout process to make the team, in an interview with TMZ.
But this didn’t stop him from taking a jab at Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes,
“At the end of the day, I feel like I’m better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ of the game,” he said.
Mahomes later took to X to respond, sharing the meme of 50 Cent saying “What did he say f**k me for?”
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