Practicing flag football during the NFL Pro Bowl Games has Mike Evans thinking about the 2028 Summer Olympics.
During Pro Bowl Games practices, Evans told reporters that he's considering playing for the Team USA flag football squad in Los Angeles. NFL fans shouldn't worry if Evans could get hurt when he would be 35 years old. Evans said he would participate in the Olympics if he was retired.
"This is good practice for me in the Olympics," Evans said, via ESPN's Jenna Laine. "Most likely I'll be retired by 2028. How many years is that? Three years? I don't know. But if I am retired, I would definitely like to play in the Olympics."
Evans is under contract for one more season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for $21 million. He's coming off a year in which he caught 74 passes for 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns. Even if Evans plays beyond 2025, he doesn't seem to believe he'll still be an active NFL player by 2028.
Men's and women's flag football were officially approved for the 2028 Summer Games in 2023. Since then, some NFL players have talked about participating.
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Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill publicly expressed his interest, saying "sign the Cheetah up" " target="_blank" class="link"> on his podcast. Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, who's playing in next week's Super Bowl and was named as an Olympic flag football ambassador, appeared in a promotion in which he lit the Olympic torch in Los Angeles with a flaming football. That seemed to imply he'd be interested in being on the team.
The announcement for 2028 inspired many fans and media to put together a dream team of NFL players that could win gold. But that overlooked the fact that there's already a USA flag football team and those athletes understandably resent the sentiment that they should all be replaced by professional football stars.
"I think it’s disrespectful that they just automatically assume that they’re able to just join the Olympic team because of the person that they are," U.S. national team QB Darrell “Housh” Doucette told The Guardian last August. "They didn’t help grow this game to get to the Olympics,” Doucette said. “Give the guys who helped this game get to where it’s at their respect."
Nevertheless, if a seven-time Pro Bowler who just tied the legendary Jerry Rice with 11 consecutive 1,000-yard seasons wants to play on the USA flag football squad, he'll probably earn a spot.
