Will NFL stars play Olympic flag football? Should they?

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For the first time since June, there are no NFL or CFL games happening this weekend.

Instead, as we await the Super Bowl next Sunday in New Orleans, football fans will have to make do with the Pro Bowl Games. The NFL's all-star showcase begins tonight in Orlando, Fla., with some skills competitions and culminates Sunday with more skills events and a flag football game.

The NFL changed the Pro Bowl game from tackle to flag in 2023. Later that year, flag football was officially added to the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which will feature both a men's and women's event. The NFL lobbied for that to happen and has continued to support and promote flag football — a fast-growing, more accessible version of the American-dominated sport — as part of the league's efforts to expand its reach around the world.

Which begs the ongoing question: will we see a football Dream Team in L.A.?

The short answer is that it's too early to tell. But the NFL seems interested in having some of its biggest stars compete in the Olympics, and football's U.S. governing body has indicated it's open to the possibility.

Some stars could be on board too, including both quarterbacks in next week's Super Bowl. Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes said he would "definitely want to" play in the Olympics, while the Philadelphia Eagles' Jalen Hurts was named a flag football ambassador for the 2028 Games. Hurts starred in an NFL-sanctioned ad where he lit the Olympic torch at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum by throwing a flaming football (with a little CGI help, of course) and then turned to the camera and