Tom Brady has nothing left to prove in American football. He has won every conceivable award and will become a first-ballot Hall of Famer in four years’ time. However, there’s a fantastic opportunity that can help grow his brand while making more people appreciate the game he loves.
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The National Football League will be at the forefront of growing flag football as it becomes an official Olympic sport in 2028. NFL Network insider Tom Pelissero, during his recent appearance on the ‘Rich Eisen Show,’ compared this opportunity to when NBA players formed the ‘Dream Team’ that dominated the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
However, while having the best NFL players representing the United States would attract massive attention to the game, the rest of the world might be apprehensive about letting the top players compete.
Therefore, Patrick Mahomes or Joe Burrow might not get a chance to represent the country, as they are still under contract to play professional football and their teams are unlikely to risk injuring their most prized players.
But the absence of those All-Pro quarterbacks is not the end of the USA’s gold medal aspirations in flag football. As the discussion between Pelissero and ‘NFL Red Zone’ host Scott Hanson unfolded, they identified recently retired players who can still perform at a high level. This is when Hanson pointed out that Brady would be perfect for the job:
“Tom Brady, in that setting, would be phenomenal.”
Brady might be 50 years old when the Olympics commence in Los Angeles. However, as he has proven throughout his NFL career, age is just a number.
Since he’s still keeping himself in shape, the former Patriots QB can dissect opponents even if he’s 20 or 30 years older than most of them. More importantly, a gold medal for Team USA would spark greater global interest in flag football and, similarly, in American football.
Scott Hanson Believes Brady Will Be Fantastic for Flag Football
Hanson isn’t campaigning for Brady because the three-time NFL MVP is admittedly an NFL Red Zone spectator, especially during his bye weeks. Instead, he recalled an instance during Brady’s charity flag football tournament years ago.
Hanson shared with Pelissero on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ that Brady hit everyone in stride when he played flag football. Whether it was an NFL player who ran a 4.0-second 40-yard dash or a casual player who wasn’t as fast, Brady found his target right on the button.
It won’t matter that Brady will be six years out of football by the time the Los Angeles Olympics commence. His muscle memory will help him rediscover the form that once struck fear in the NFL. Likewise, Hanson’s story proves that Brady will still play exceptional flag football, even if he has to adjust his release to match his receiver’s speed.
In addition to Brady’s impeccable timing, flag football’s dynamics would give him all the time in the world to execute their plays. As he consistently proved through 23 NFL seasons, excellent outcomes occur when the seven-time Super Bowl winner is comfortable in the pocket.
