Tom Brady to Play Flag Football Event in Saudi Arabia; Could He Play at the Olympics?

• Tom Brady will play in a flag-football event in Saudi Arabia in 2026.
• He’ll be joined by a host of NFL players and coaches, including Rob Gronkowski, Christian McCaffrey, Pete Carroll, and Sean Payton.
• Would Brady be considered to play for the United States in the flag-football Olympic debut in 2028?

Tom Brady will be back on the football field in a flag-football event in Saudi Arabia in 2026. He’ll be joined by a number of former and current NFL players and coaches.

Now the question will be raised: will Tom Brady play for the United States in the Olympic debut of flag football in 2028?

Brady to Be Joined by Gronkowski, Barkley, Carroll, and Others

The news was announced on Monday by various outlets that Brady would participate in the inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic. 

The flag-football event will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and it’ll be promoted by Turki Al-Sheikh. He is the face of Riyadh Season, which has hosted a number of high-profile boxing and MMA events in Saudi Arabia. He also recently promoted the recent Terence Crawford-Canelo Alvarez fight.

Brady, the former seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback, is the biggest name of the event, which will feature three teams in a round-robin format in March 2026. He’ll be joined by former teammate Rob Gronkowski, as well as Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, and CeeDee Lamb, among others. The three teams will be coached by Pete Carroll of the Las Vegas Raiders (of which Brady owns a minority piece), Sean Payton of the Denver Broncos, and Kyle Shanahan of the San Francisco 49ers.

Brady said:

"It's a multi-year commitment. Obviously, we're getting off to a good start. The first year will be kind of where everyone's attention and energy is at. It's the first time we've ever done something like this, but all the players that I've talked to are excited about playing. Obviously, with the Olympics coming up in 2028, I think it's all the NFL players' first exposure to it, and I didn't want to miss out on being a part of it."

Will Tom Brady Play for the United States at the Olympics in 2028?

That last part is key, as the United States will host the Olympics in 2028, when flag football will make its debut. It was announced in May that the NFL would allow players to participate in the event. That would make the United States a massive favorite at football betting sites.

BetUS actually has odds for the Americans’ starting quarterback in 2028. Lamar Jackson, Jayden Daniels, and Josh Allen are the favorites. But Brady isn’t even on the board. Would he be considered for the job? Would he even want it?

It’s not realistic for Brady, who would turn 51 a few days after the 2028 Olympics ended, to be at the top of the list. It would be much more reasonable to expect Brady to be a part of assembling the team, and that’s likely what this event in Saudi Arabia would be about.

He could absolutely do it, especially since it’s flag football, which means no contact, and he doesn’t have to move much. He’d also be throwing to the likes of Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase, which makes things easier.

But you never know with Brady, and it would be massive news if he was even named to the team, much less named the starter. We also know what happens if Brady is told he can’t do something. The competitive juices would heat up quickly for TB12!