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Kevin Seifert
The NFL owners will vote next week on a resolution that would allow players to participate in Football Drapeau during the 2028 Olympic Games, according to a memo that the League sent to the teams this week and published publicly on Thursday.
According to resolution, “the participation of NFL players in Football Drapeau during the 2028 summer Olympic Games … will support such growth and will advance several interests of the league, including the increase in fans and the public interest in Football Drapeau, the enlargement of the global scope of the NFL, and offering greater opportunities for the commitment of fans and for our partners in League”.
The resolution establishes rules and a basic structure on how the NFL hopes that the process is operating, subject to negotiations with the NFL Players Association and the Olympic Games. They include:
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Permission to any player under the NFL contract to participate in the tests
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A limit of a player per team participating in real games, for each participating national team
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In addition, allowing an international player designated from a team to play for his country of origin
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A purchase of league insurance policies to provide protection against injuries to any injured player while participating in an authorized Football activity related to the Olympic Games
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A salary ceiling credit for any injured player
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An expectation that the Olympic football teams on the Olympic flag establish medical staff and field surfaces in accordance with minimum nfl standards
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A calendar which “does not make conflict unreasonably with a League of NFL player and club commitments”.
The owners will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday in Eagan, Minnesota, to examine the resolution among other league affairs at a previously planned championship meeting. Commissioner Roger Goodell, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, and other managers of the key league have supported participation in the Olympic Games during their last meetings in Palm Beach, Florida last month.
The 2028 summer Olympic Games should take place from July 14, 2028 to July 30, 2028. NFL players are generally interrupted during most of this period. At worst, participants in flag football would miss the start of the training camp.
