The Green Bay Packers and every other NFL team are not far off from having to consider adding additional restrictions on what players are permitted to do during the offseason into the language in their respective contracts.
Flag football is coming to the Olympic Games starting in the summer of 2028. While details still need to be figured out, NFL players could have the opportunity to suit up and represent their country in Los Angeles against the best the world has to offer.
For this to be approved, 24 of the league's 32 owners must vote in favor of the resolution, and if Packers GM Brian Gutenkunst gets his way, that resolution will not pass. As much as Gutenkunst loves the Olympics and the fact that flag football is now part of the event, his preference would be for NFL players not to be involved.
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"I think overall, [flag football in the Olympics is] a great thing," Gutenkunst said. "I'd love it if we kept the NFL players out of it."
Beyond protecting the major financial investments made in these players, other variables need to be considered should this resolution be approved. First and foremost, the 2028 Olympic Games are scheduled to occur from July 14-30, which will likely fall around the same time as NFL training camps opening across the league.
Are coaches and owners going to be fine with stars missing valuable time on the field with their teammates to let them compete in events they have no control over? Will players agree to include language in their contracts that allows those deals to be voided if they are injured competing in flag football?
I don't speak for either side, but I would have to imagine that owners will not love the idea of not having control over training and any possible injury management. On the other side of the spectrum, players likely will not be willing to put their money at risk.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent knows the approval of this resolution is far from a slam dunk. Given the league's backing of the flag football initiative across the country at the youth level, Vincent seems motivated to ease any potential concerns.
"It's definitely a work in progress," Vincent said. "For the [teams], how do you get to a place where you're comfortable, making sure all of the safeguards are in place, in the event that one of your athletes maybe puts his hand up to potentially participate?
"Making sure that we, the league, clubs, players, players' association, everyone's taking all of the right precautionary measures in the event that someone wants to go represent the country, that is still a work in progress."
We'll find out soon enough what comes of this proposal and whether enough of the league's owners will back the resolution for it to be passed. It seems safe to assume what Gutekunst is hoping for, though.