Former NFL QB Plans to ‘Go for Gold’ With Team USA in 2028 Olympics

Los Angeles—The 2028 Summer Games will mark flag football’s Olympic debut on American soil, and a familiar face from Sundays past wants in on the history. Robert Griffin III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner and eight-year NFL veteran, announced Saturday that he will pursue a roster spot with the United States national team.

“Proud and Honored to announce that I will be going for Gold in Flag Football with the USA National Team in 2028,” Griffin posted on X. “The journey starts now and there is no greater honor than wearing USA across your chest and representing something more than yourself. USA! USA! USA!”

The declaration lands amid a weekend of flag-football fanfare in Los Angeles. At BMO Stadium, the Fanatics Flag Football Classic pitted NFL luminaries—Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Stefon Diggs, DeAndre Hopkins, Odell Beckham Jr., Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley and Von Miller—against a cohesive U.S. men’s national squad. The national side rolled to a 43-16 victory, underscoring the gap between all-star collections and a unit trained specifically for the five-on-five, non-contact discipline.

Griffin, 34, has not played in the NFL since 2020 but has stayed close to the game through podcasting and analyst work for Fox Sports. He noted earlier this month that any hopeful Olympian must be “entrenched” in flag football’s unique rhythm for the next two years to reach elite form by 2028.

While Brady flashed vintage precision—hooking up with Diggs for a touchdown and watching Gronkowski convert a two-pointer—the seven-time Super Bowl champion dampened speculation that he might suit up for Los Angeles, telling Good Morning America he is content in retirement and with his duties as a Fox broadcaster and Raiders minority owner.

Griffin’s résumé includes 9,271 passing yards and 43 touchdowns across Washington, Cleveland and Baltimore stops, plus 1,800 rushing yards and 10 scores. Whether that mobility translates to the flag game will be tested over the coming qualification cycles. For now, the former Baylor star has set his sights on the one accolade missing from his football life: an Olympic medal.

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