Matthew Stafford has hilarious reaction to Olympics question

USA Today

7 days ago

Matthew Stafford has hilarious reaction to Olympics question
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NFL players can now partake in Olympic flag football
Olympic flag football, which will make it's debut at the 2028 summer games, just got bumped up a level after the NFL agreed to let its players partake.
Sports Pulse
NFL owners may have voted to allow their players to play flag football in the Olympics, but the next iteration of the Summer Games is still a ways away.
That's why 37-year-old Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford had the jokes when a reporter asked him if he'd consider suiting up to play in 2028.
"You talking about coaching, or what?" Stafford joked.
The reporter doubled down on his question, asking if the 16-year NFL veteran would have any interest in participating as a player.
"Sure!" Stafford said with a smile. "I mean, nobody's gonna want me to, but yeah, sure, it'd be fun... to coach."
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The first overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft will be 40 years old by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games roll around. Whether Stafford will even still be in the NFL by then – his Rams contract is up after the 2026 season – remains to be seen.
Stafford isn't the only current NFL quarterback considering what his age will be by then.
Kansas City Chiefs superstar Patrick Mahomes, who turns 30 in September, told reporters earlier on Thursday that he'll "probably leave that (the Olympics) to the younger guys. I'll be a little older by that time."
MORE: Patrick Mahomes on playing flag football in Olympics
Rams head coach Sean McVay had a similar attitude about how things will stand three years down the road.
"I think that is so far away from me. Coaching years are dog years, you know that," he said.
Overall though, McVay's tone was generally favorable about allowing players to participate while also recognizing the players on the already successful United States national flag football team, which currently doesn't feature any NFL players.
"If that's something that players say they want to be able to do, then I think it's a really cool experience for them to be able to be a part of while also acknowledging that man, there are some other guys that have been doing it," he said. "I'm not going to pretend to understand the nuances tactically and what that game entails, but I think it's good. I think it's great."
In 2023, the U.S. men's and women's national flag football teams both won gold medals at the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) Americas Continental Flag Football Championship.