Tom Brady’s team did not win the Fanatics Flag Football Classic. In fact, they got thoroughly handled first 43-16 by Team USA, then 34-26 by the other NFL-laden roster. He was even caught on a hot mic during the game, opening up about his frustrations with the sport. And Derek Carr understands exactly where he’s coming from.
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It was clear pretty quickly at the Fanatics event that the NFL players were out of their depth against Team USA’s flag football team. After months of talk leading up to the event surrounding the validity of professionals competing in the Olympics, we were shocked to see NFL players dominated by amateurs. All in all, they were outscored by Team USA 106-44.
After the game, Brady shared his opinions on flag football and adjustments the game should consider. He talked about shortening the field dimensions and adjusting defensive restrictions. Most notably, he was perturbed by how often Team USA ran passing plays that were under 5 yards per completion.
“I understand his heart,” Carr shared on Home Grown. “What he was saying is that this isn’t real football. Which we all agree. Now that I’ve watched enough of it, it’s not real football.”
Carr and his brother tuned into the Fanatics event over the weekend. They, like many, were surprised to see the NFL players getting smoked by Team USA. But some things about the game didn’t look right to them.
For starters, Carr mentioned that flag football doesn’t even resemble other forms of football and that it’s a unique sport altogether.
“It’s entertaining. It’s fun. I wouldn’t even call it arena football. Arena football is more football,” Carr argued.
Still, the former QB congratulated Team USA and reminded everyone that nobody was ever rooting against them.
“With that said, our team that played the Team USA, our team, it’s America. We’re united… They understand and play that game, practice that game… Congratulations to Team USA,” Carr stated.
Although it didn’t stop him from continuing to pick at the event. Carr talked about how nobody is mentioning that there were some non-NFL players on rosters like Logan Paul and iShowSpeed. He had no idea who these guys were and why they were being allowed on the NFL roster.
At the end of the day, Carr still believes that given enough practice, NFL players would dominate Team USA.
“I still stand on, if we get a group of NFL guys to learn this and do this for a few months, it wouldn’t even be close.”
It’s a pretty interesting addition to the discourse that has surrounded the Fanatics event from this past weekend. Some current and former NFL players are now moving the goalposts, so to speak, in reaction to the beating. It’s come off as a bit arrogant.
First, everyone was confident that NFL players would easily beat flag football players in their sport. But now that they didn’t, excuses, noteworthy or not, have immediately begun to arise. For Carr, it’s that the NFL guys didn’t have enough practice, and that the game didn’t resemble football.
Regardless, the Flag Football Association is not going to change its rules to cater to NFL players. If they want to compete in the Olympics in 2028, then they’re going to need to adjust and learn the game. Why would a league create rules around players who don’t even compete in the sport full-time?
