NFL owners to decide fate of 'tush push' and players in 2028 Olympics
NFL owners this week could decide whether the "tush push" belongs in the game, and whether NFL players belong in the Olympics.
Beginning Tuesday, owners are holding a three-day spring meeting in Minnesota where two of the most-anticipated changes involve a proposal to ban the quarterback-sneak play that has become wildly successful for the Philadelphia Eagles, in particular, and whether to allow NFL players to compete in flag football during the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Since 2022, the Eagles have converted on reportedly 90 percent of short-yardage situations by modifying the typical quarterback sneak by stationing multiple teammates behind quarterback Jalen Hurts to push him forward at the snap. While the so-called "tush push" is not used exclusively by the Eagles, it was integral to their winning last season's Super Bowl title.
Earlier this offseason, the Green Bay Packers emerged as the most vocal opposition to the play, creating a proposal that would "prohibit any offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap."
In February, Packers president Mark Murphy had called the play "bad for the game, and we should go back to prohibiting the push of the runner," he wrote bluntly on the team's website. Murphy added that "there is no skill involved and it is almost an automatic first down on plays of a yard or less." (The Packers were 0-2 against Philadelphia last season.)
In April, team owners tabled a vote on whether to keep or ban the play. The Eagles reportedly used that extension to lobby owners to reject the proposed ban. During Philadelphia's trip to the White House in April to celebrate their Super Bowl title, President Donald Trump publicly supported keeping the "tush push" legal.
"They should keep it," Trump said. "... I like it. It's sort of exciting and different."
"We also appreciate the endorsement for the tush push," Eagles coach Nick Sirianni responded.
The NFL has used its cachet to support the creation of flag football leagues across the country in recent years and runs its own, yet whether the league and its players union would permit players to take part in the flag football competition during the 2028 Olympics remained to be seen because of injury risks.
Owners are set to discuss a resolution that would permit two players per NFL team to take part — one 'designated international player' and another player. The move would open the possibility of NFL players competing for countries outside the U.S.
According to the proposal, any Olympic flag football team hoping to add an NFL player would need to abide by minimum standards for medical staff and field surfaces. Also, NFL teams would receive protections in case their players are injured while participating in Olympic-related events, such as a credit under the salary cap.
In April, commissioner Roger Goodell said that he had "heard directly from a lot of players who want to participate and represent their country, whether it's United States or the country that they came from."
Because the 2028 Olympics will run from July 14-30, it will end before the NFL's preseason schedule begins, making it easier for the league to accommodate.
Cities that host each Olympics are permitted to add competitions on a one-time basis, which is how organizers in Los Angeles added flag football, cricket, softball, lacrosse and squash and brought back baseball and softball, which were not contested at the 2012, 2016 or 2024 Olympics but were played in 2020. How well the additions are received helps determine whether they are contested in future Olympics.
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