League office, owners at odds over player participation in Olympic flag football

In three years, football will finally land in the Olympics. Flag football, but still.

Various NFL players have expressed interest in playing. The league office, as we understand, wants that to happen. The owners, however, are being more cautious.

Which has created tension between the NFL and the people who own the NFL's teams.

We got a sense of the push and pull during last week's annual meeting in Florida. The league sees an opportunity to market the brand on a global scale. The owners see an chance to have key players suffer injuries. And even if they don't, they'll miss time in preparation for the 2028 season.

The Olympics run from July 14 through July 30, 2028. Any NFL players who participate will likely miss part of training camp.

They could miss some of the offseason program, too, depending on the trials process — if the United State Olympic Committee opts to use a tournament to determine membership on the national team.

While there's a collective upside for Big Shield, the NFL teams that surrender players to the effort could end up experiencing a very real downside. Yes, flag football isn't as intense as tackle football. But tell that one to former NFL running back Robert Edwards, who suffered a very serious knee injury while playing non-contact knee injury. So serious that amputation was a potential option at some point.

Really, why would any owner agree to surrender a clear term from Paragraph 3 of the Standard Player Contract? Here's what it says: "Without prior written consent of the Club, Player will not play football or engage in activities related to football otherwise than for Club or engage in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury. Player represents that he has special, exceptional and unique knowledge, skill, ability, and experience as a football player, the loss of which cannot be estimated with any certainty and cannot be fairly or adequately compensated by damages. Player therefore agrees that Club will have the right, in addition to any other right which Club may possess, to enjoin Player by appropriate proceedings from playing football or engaging in football-related activities other than for Club or from engaging in any activity other than football which may involve a significant risk of personal injury."

In English, that provision means a team can sue a player who tries to play football of any kind for any team other than his NFL team, or from engaging in any other activity that entails a significant risk of personal injury. In 2007, for example, the Titans successfully blocked cornerback Pacman Jones from wrestling during his one-year suspension under the Personal Conduct Policy.

Why would any owner want to risk losing a key player for the full season? It makes no sense.

Here's what does make sense. By 2028, there will be a crop of freshly-retired NFL players. Let the best of them do it. Winning the no-brainer gold medal becomes the icing on the cake of an NFL career. And that would be the standard practice, for as long as the Olympics continue to recognize flag football.

However it plays out, the clock is ticking. The league hopes to finalize a decision in the next 60 days. For most owners, the final decision should be obvious: "You're not getting our players."