Even though the Summer Olympics are long over, many football fans are already looking ahead to 2028. After all, the next Summer Games will take place in Los Angeles in 2028 and other new sports will be premiering, including flag football.
With the impending inclusion of flag football in the Olympics, much discussion has revolved around the NFL’s possible participation in the event.
It would be a blast to watch today’s stars dominate the competition in LA, but with the 2028 regular season starting about a month later, one wonders if the NFL’s best players would be willing to take the risk of injury late in the offseason.
Of course, some people believe that NFL players should not be given spots on the Olympic team. One potential Olympian even went so far as to say he would be a better fit for the 2028 team than the best quarterback in the world.
In an interview with TMZ Sports On Wednesday, flag football quarterback Darrell Doucette made a pretty bold statement. When asked about Team USA’s 2028 flag football team, the 35-year-old told the reporter that he is “better than Patrick Mahomes because of my IQ when it comes to the game.”
“Ultimately, I feel like I’m better than Patrick Mahomes because of my game IQ.”
Flag football or not, this guy needs to relax 💀 pic.twitter.com/8h0dj999Km
— how about these CHIEFS (@hbtCHIEFS) 21 August 2024
Saying you’re better than the face of the NFL is absurd in itself, but that’s not all. Doucette even admitted that Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league and is “more accurate.” His only advantage over the Chiefs quarterback is that he knows flag football better.
TMZ Sports also added that Doucette sent them a text message after the interview, explaining that Mahomes had to prove to him who was the better player.
The interview comes less than a week after Doucette said The Guardian that it was “disrespectful” that NFL players believed they could “automatically” be included in the Olympic team.
While Doucette is probably not a better gunslinger than Mahomes, his confidence is easy to understand. The 35-year-old passer has more experience in flag football – 5-on-5 – and even led Team USA to the World Championship in 2022. And that’s without even mentioning his long list of spectacular plays.
Interestingly, it doesn’t seem like Mahomes is taking Doucette’s comments to heart. Shortly after the interview was published, the three-time Super Bowl champion QB shared a GIF on X (formerly Twitter) of rapper 50 Cent saying, “I’m thinking to myself, why is he saying (curse word) to me?”
https://t.co/yY7fYXCfF3 pic.twitter.com/LONXJPkPYK
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) 21 August 2024
Friendly competition is never a bad thing, so let’s hope it stays that way. Ultimately, Doucette probably knows Mahomes is more talented than him, so he’s just trying to get as much attention as possible. Considering how things have gone so far, his strategy is definitely working.
We’ll learn more about the NFL’s potential participation as the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles draw closer. As great as it would be to have Mahomes lead the United States to victory, it’s also understandable that the league doesn’t want to risk a serious injury to one of its big names – even if it’s “just” flag football.
In the meantime, Mahomes and the Chiefs have their eyes on a bigger prize: the Lombardi Trophy. Fortunately, Kansas City enters the final week of the NFL preseason with the best odds to win Super Bowl LIX (+500) at DraftKings Sportsbook.
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The odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.
