Roger Goodell discusses playoff re-seeding, Olympic flag football

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While the tabling of a vote to ban the “tush push” hogged the headlines Tuesday at the NFL annual meeting, commissioner Roger Goodell addressed other topics ranging from a proposal to change playoff seeding to flag football in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Goodell said discussions with franchises and the NFL Players Association about NFL participation in the Olympics are on the horizon.

He said he’s heard from several players enthusiastic about playing in the 2028 Games, when flag football will make its debut as an event.

“I think that’s something that we’ll continue discussions with not just the union, but also the clubs,” Goodell said. “I think both of those are things that will probably resolve sometime in the next 60 days.”

Goodell had also floated the idea of the NFL establishing a professional flag football league when speaking at the Super Bowl in February. There were no concrete updates Tuesday on the development of such a league, but the topic was tied back into the Olympics.

“I do think that the Olympics is a critical moment for us in the flag development on a global basis,” Goodell said. “Listen, the Olympics are the pinnacle of international sport, and for us to be able to participate in that, to have both men’s and women’s flag teams participating from around the world, is a significant moment for us.

“So there is a lot of lead-up to that in the qualifications and how that happens, so that is clearly inspiring some of the work.”

In the near term, one league rule change that didn’t pass but could gain traction was the Detroit Lions’ proposal to change playoff seeding. The Lions wanted wild-card teams to be seeded above division winners with inferior records.

Goodell called it a “very healthy proposal” and said he could see a world where division winners with sub-.500 records do not receive home-field advantage for the first round.

“There’s great data to show that we should really look at some form of this,” Goodell said.

Goodell also declined to discuss the league’s investigation into Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker, who stands accused by 16 massage therapists of inappropriate sexual conduct.

“I haven’t gotten an update but I know the review is ongoing,” Goodell said. “We won’t be giving updates but when we have something, we’ll certainly share it with everyone.”

–Field Level Media