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Morning Edition

May 22, 2025

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Flag football will make its Olympic debut in 2028. Here’s everything you need to know about the NFL’s involvement, restrictions, and how it will all work.

— David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], and Colin Salao [[link removed]]

Everything You Need to Know About Olympic Flag Football [[link removed]]

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With NFL players now officially allowed to compete in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics [[link removed]] in Los Angeles, discussion about building Team USA—and some other national squads—will be top of mind for fans, players, and media members alike.

But there are several key rules and provisions to know as the discourse builds over the next three years. The NFL and the International Federation of American Football worked together to get approval from the International Olympic Committee in 2023.

Who Can Play?

Only one player from each NFL team can compete for a specific national team, so multiple players from the same franchise can participate—as long as they’re representing different countries.

For example, stars like Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce wouldn’t be able to team up for the U.S. However, Mahomes could lace it up for Team USA while his teammate George Karlaftis plays for Greece, if they qualify.

Additionally, each NFL team’s designated international player (who is allowed to occupy an extra spot on the practice squad) may compete for his country, regardless of other players from the team competing. Those players are typically not well-known stars.

What Are the X’s and O’s?

The game itself is a 5-on-5 format: one quarterback and four receivers/running backs, one of whom begins the play at center. Defenders are allowed to blitz, provided they start from at least 7 yards behind the line of scrimmage.

The game is played in two 20-minute halves on a field that’s 70 yards long (including end zones) and 25 yards wide. The offense has four plays to cross midfield for a first down, at which point it becomes 1st-and-goal. There is no kicking, so after a touchdown, teams have the option to go for one or two extra points, with a single play from 5 yards or 12 yards, respectively.

Which Nations Will Make It?

The Olympic flag football competition will include teams from six nations, featuring 10 players per squad.

A record 31 nations participated in the 2024 IFAF Flag Football World Championship. The top six finishers in the men’s competition were, in order, the U.S., Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, France, and Italy.

The other nations in the championship round were Canada, Denmark, Israel, Great Britain, Japan, Germany, Panama, Spain, Australia, and the Czech Republic. The qualification process for flag football at the Los Angeles Olympics has not yet been determined.

What Will the Turnout Be?

It remains to be seen how many NFL players will end up on Olympic teams.

During the basketball competition at the 2024 Paris Games, a record 51 current NBA players were on Olympic rosters. There will be no restrictions on former NFL players competing in Olympic flag football.

Canada typically has the largest number of non-U.S. players in the NFL. Current notable names include Panthers running back Chuba Hubbard and Bills receiver Josh Palmer.

For Team USA and others, there could also be the potential of pairing veteran, championship-winning flag football players with NFL players.

SPONSORED BY E*TRADE FROM MORGAN STANLEY

Why George Pyne Says Sports Ownership Is Recession-Proof

In Episode 6 of Portfolio Players [[link removed]], presented by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley, Bruin Capital founder and CEO George Pyne explains why owning a sports team remains one of the most resilient investments in any economy.

Pyne unpacks how leagues like MLB and UFC have innovated for a media-driven era, what’s holding back NIL from reaching its full potential, and why women’s sports are entering a breakthrough moment commercially.

He also makes the case for sports as the ultimate live entertainment experience—part business, part reality TV, and always in demand.

Don’t miss this inside look at how capital, media, and strategy are shaping the future of sports. Watch the full episode now [[link removed]] on Front Office Sports.

Roger Goodell’s Tenure May Extend Again As NFL Eyes New Deal [[link removed]]

Tork Mason-Imagn Images

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

NFL owners are discussing a potential multiyear contract extension for commissioner Roger Goodell, according to Front Office Sports sources, a move that, if completed, would extend the tenure of one of the longest-serving leaders in major pro sports and also keep him around for a series of key upcoming league initiatives. The matter, while still in development, did not formally come up at this week’s spring meetings in Minnesota.

Just 19 months after completing a prior, three-year extension [[link removed]] running through March 2027, owners are considering another contract term that would extend Goodell to around 2030. Already, Goodell is set to earn around $700 million since becoming commissioner in 2006, a sum nearly twice the career earnings of any player [[link removed]] in NFL history. A new term would add significantly to that total.

Though speculation has remained somewhat steady about the potential timing and nature of a commissioner succession at the NFL, there remains plenty of reason for the 66-year-old Goodell to stay. The league continues to distance itself as not only the most dominant pro sports league in North America but also the top programming in U.S. television, regardless of genre. A run of new audience records and rising revenue included an unprecedented average viewership [[link removed]] of 127.7 million for Super Bowl LIX in February.

Next Up

An extension for Goodell, meanwhile, would ensure he will be in place for a series of major projects coming up for the league in the next several years. Among them:

A new set of TV deals, as most of the league’s domestic-rights deals include an opt-out after the 2029 season, with one involving ESPN following a year later. It’s all but certain that the NFL will exercise those options [[link removed]] and seek even greater media-rights fees. A new labor deal with the NFL Players Association. The current deal expires in March 2031 [[link removed]], and a successor pact will need to account for the league’s expanding revenue. The potential arrival of an 18-game regular season [[link removed]], a move also poised to enlarge the NFL’s earning power. The creation of a full, 16-game slate of international games each season as part of an accelerating global strategy [[link removed]] that includes seven such games this year [[link removed]]. Forthcoming stadiums under construction for the Bills and Titans, and potentially the Commanders [[link removed]]. The continuing expansion of the draft, an event targeted to reach a new attendance milestone [[link removed]] in 2027 in Washington, D.C.

There was some surprising pushback on Wednesday elsewhere, however, as expected votes to amend the playoff format and ban the Tush Push both failed to garner sufficient owner support [[link removed]].

With at least 21 years in office, and likely more, Goodell continues to establish himself as one of the most tenured commissioners in sports. The NHL’s Gary Bettman has been in that spot for 32 years and counting. Major League Soccer’s Don Garber celebrated his 25th anniversary last summer.

MLB’s Strong Attendance, Viewership Due in Part to Rivalry Weekend [[link removed]]

John Jones-Imagn Images

MLB is entering the all-important Memorial Day weekend with significant momentum in attendance and viewership, thanks to some power teams and a successful introduction of its Rivalry Weekend promotion.

The long holiday weekend is often a starting point for when these key metrics for the league begin to pick up meaningfully for the critical summer months. This year, however, the league has benefited from a sizable early bump compared to last year.

So far this season, MLB attendance is up by 2% to an average of 27,612 per game, advancing on the 1.3% gain at the beginning of May [[link removed]] and helping confirm preseason expectations of a third-straight annual increase [[link removed]] at the gate.

Each of the three main national media-rights partners, meanwhile, has posted viewership increases in the early going of the 2025 season, with ESPN up by 12% despite plans to opt out of its MLB deal after this year [[link removed]], Fox up by 8%, and TNT Sports up by 15%.

A significant piece of that overall lift was the May 16–18 Rivalry Weekend, a scheduling format that had teams across the league playing against a geographically near or historical rival, such as Mets-Yankees, Angels-Dodgers, and White Sox–Cubs.

The move in some ways harkened back to the earliest iterations of interleague play in the late 1990s, long before it became a much broader and everyday occurrence in MLB. Fans embraced the clustering, as the weekend attendance of 1.6 million represented the league’s largest such total before Memorial Day since 2012. ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball coverage of the finale of the Mets-Yankees series drew an average audience of 2.54 million, marking the most-watched game of the season on any network, and the network’s largest viewership for the primetime showcase since 2018.

Similarly, MLB said merchandise sales, social media views, and consumption on MLB.TV during Rivalry Weekend also rose by significant, double-digit percentages compared to the same weekend a year ago.

The creation and promotion of Rivalry Weekend represented another move by the league to elevate portions of a six-month, 162-game schedule, one that will also include the recently announced return of Players’ Weekend in August. That event was revived last year [[link removed]] after a five-year hiatus.

The Mets-Yankees series, meanwhile, also offered a crescendo in the ongoing turmoil surrounding Mets outfielder Juan Soto [[link removed]].

A key element of MLB’s broader attendance and viewership increases has been the presence of big-market superstars such as the Yankees’ Aaron Judge, Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani, and Soto. Those three teams are each up meaningfully at the gate so far this season. The Dodgers and Mets will face each other for the first time since the National League Championship Series last Fall, won by Los Angeles. The finale on Sunday will be the next SNB game.

Serving Another Record

FOS graphic

The total purse at Roland-Garros is worth about $63.7 million (€56.35 million), a 5.21% increase from last year. The first-place prize for the men’s and women’s singles winners is up to $2.9 million (€2.55 million), about $170,000 more than last year.

The French Open has seen an increase in its prize money for four consecutive years following a 10% dip between 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s purse is about 64% more than the 2021 purse ($38.9 million).

Read more [[link removed]] about the French Open purse and the storylines ahead of the second Grand Slam of the year.

LOUD AND CLEAR Browns Bound for the ’Burbs

Cleveland Browns/HKS

“We gotta move on.”

—Cleveland mayor Justin Bibb, on the stadium saga surrounding the Browns, who are trying to move out of their downtown venue and into a $2.4 billion dome in the suburbs [[link removed]]. “If they go to Brook Park, God bless them, good luck,” Bibb told the local Fox 8 news outlet [[link removed]] this week. “But, by hell or high water, we are going to develop a lakefront our residents can be proud of.”

While Bibb said that “there are more important priorities than the Cleveland Browns,” the mayor added that “it’s important that the city of Cleveland is not left empty-handed. That we don’t have an abandoned stadium downtown.” He did not specify what ideas he has for the Browns’ current stadium if they move out.

The Browns and the city of Cleveland remain embroiled in lawsuits against each other [[link removed]] over the stadium fight.

FRONT OFFICE SPORTS HONORS

Is Your Team Award-Worthy?

The Most Innovative Teams Award [[link removed]] will recognize sports organizations revolutionizing the fan-team relationship through innovative, personalized, and multidimensional engagement.

They’re the teams breaking new ground in fan connection—both digitally and in person—by championing their players, embracing diverse fan identities and fluid fandom, and leveraging their platforms and partnerships to leave a positive impact on the communities they represent and serve.

Nominations for Most Innovative Teams will be evaluated on areas including fan experiences, partnerships, athlete resources, and data and analytics.

Think your team deserves to be recognized? Nominate them now [[link removed]] before prices increase on May 26.

Editors’ Picks Nike to Raise Prices on Sneakers Above $100 [[link removed]]by Lisa Scherzer [[link removed]]Kids products and Air Force 1s won’t be affected. Colts Owner Jim Irsay Dies at 65 [[link removed]]by Ryan Glasspiegel [[link removed]]Irsay had taken over the Colts from his father in 1997. Question of the Day

Should more than one NFL player per team be allowed on the Olympic flag football roster?

YES [[link removed]] NO [[link removed]]

Wednesday’s result: 46% of respondents think NBA TV ratings will continue to rise during the conference finals.

Advertise [[link removed]] Awards [[link removed]] Learning [[link removed]] Events [[link removed]] Video [[link removed]] Shows [[link removed]] Written by David Rumsey [[link removed]], Eric Fisher [[link removed]], Colin Salao [[link removed]] Edited by Matthew Tabeek [[link removed]], Or Moyal [[link removed]], Catherine Chen [[link removed]]

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