Team USA has already shown it doesn't need the NFL's help in flag football for the 2028 Olympics

Team USA doesn’t need NFL players to help it go for the gold when flag football debuts at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The Fanatics Flag Football Classic in LA last Saturday showed the men’s national team can bring it home. The men dominated games against teams made up of current and former NFL stars, including Tom Brady, Joe Burrow, Jalen Hurts and Jayden Daniels. The team is also undefeated in International Federation of American Football games since 2018, winning by an average score of 50-17, and has captured five straight world titles.

It should be end of discussion. But it won’t be because NFL players have made it clear they want an opportunity to compete for their country and league owners have voted to allow it. Burrow treated last week's tournament in Southern California like an audition. He was out there running, cutting, juking more than he’s ever done in an NFL game. Bengals fans had to be scared he’d get injured with the way he played.

Flag football and the Olympics are on the agenda for the NFL’s annual meeting in Phoenix next week so there will be more discussion about it. USA Football is currently selecting its roster for the 2026 season. The list of athletes in line includes flag-football experts who are reigning world champions, along with those from basketball, track and tackle football backgrounds. Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL QB Robert Griffin III also is in the mix.

Brady, who still showed at age 48 that he excels at throwing a football, took his name out of the conversation for Team USA after going 0-2 in the tourney.

“LA ’28 will be a lot of guys like you saw out there on the field who make a big commitment to trying to be their best and go out there and showcase their skillset to a global audience,” the seven-time Super Bowl champion said.

Flag football and tackle football are not the same game, of course. The games are so different that Brady was already talking about modifying flag rules to emphasize more passing.

NFL players and coaches weren’t prepared for the round-robin tournament after only a couple practices. They couldn’t rely on superior football talent to outplay an elite team that understands how to take advantage of the sport’s various nuances.

Flag football requires a unique set of skills. Exceptional speed, quickness, and elusiveness, especially in a 5-on-5 setting, are priorities. The game is simply suited to the fastest players.

That rules out many NFL superstars. For example, the league’s best edge rushers are among some of the greatest athletes because they combine power and speed. But Myles Garrett and Micah Parsons aren’t going to get to the quarterback fast enough to pull flags. Forget about interior defensive linemen. Linebackers won’t make the cut. Most safeties wouldn’t, either.

“I think when you look at it, you build it with corners and nickels on the defensive side of the ball and fast, skilled guys on the offensive side,” said Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, who played in the showcase. “I think linebackers are going to want to get themselves in that game but it feels a lot like a nickel, corner game on the defensive side of the ball.”

Pulling flags is an art in itself, one that demands plenty of practice. Forget about the fundamentals of tackling. They simply don’t apply in flag.

“When you traditionally go to tackle somebody, you want to have the man in front of them versus this game (where) you gotta be on the side, your eyes have to be in the right place and you really have to track that flag,” Kuechly said. “These guys do a tremendous job of sinking lower and you miss that flag. So the technique that we learned as the game went on was attack that near hip, play with our eyes directly on that flag and then anticipate them dropping. That’s what they are so good at and it was, quite frankly, very difficult for us to get those flags.”

The NFL plays a violent, physical sport. Flag football is built on finesse, so being bigger, stronger and more powerful works against you.

Team USA’s offense led by Darrell “Housh” Doucette III, Nico Casares, Velton Brown Jr. and Pablo Smith was unstoppable in three games last Saturday, scoring a touchdown on every possession except for a kneel-down to end one victory.

“Their skillset was very different than anything we’ve seen in the NFL, the speed, the quickness, the ability to create,” Kuechly said. “Our inability to put our hands on those guys made this game very difficult. The scheme is very different. The concepts are very different. With time, it’ll change and we’ll have a better feel for it.”

The right mix of NFL players — speedy cornerbacks, quick wide receivers, shifty running backs and elusive quarterbacks — could probably win the gold if they had the time to dedicate themselves to learning the intricacies of the sport.

“If we’re looking at great athletes, the NFL players are athletes,” Brady said.

But when would they have time to devote to flag? It’s difficult to imagine any team being willing to allow players to take time away from preparing for the NFL season, and to risk injury doing it. It’s surprising players like Burrow, Daniels, Hurts, Saquon Barkley and others had permission to play in the Fanatics showcase.

So who will represent America in 2028?

“Whoever gives the team the best chance to win should be out there,” Brady said.

Clearly, right now, that's Team USA.

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Wildcats FFC's Joe Burrow is greeted by Wildcats FFC's Saquon Barkley and Wildcats FFC's Jayden Daniels after scoring against the U.S. National Flag team during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Founders FFC's Tom Brady tosses the ball to Founders FFC's Jalen Hurts against the Wildcats FFC during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

Founders FFC's Tom Brady reacts to a call made by the referee against the U.S. National Flag team during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

U.S. National Flag team's Tyler Davis misses a catch in the end zone against the Wildcats FFC during the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

U.S. National Flag team's Isaiah Calhoun celebrates with teammate Shawn Theard Jr. the Fanatics Flag Football Classic against the Wildcats FFC, Saturday, March 21, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Caroline Brehman)

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are falling Friday as Wall Street stumbles toward the finish of a fifth straight losing week, which would be its longest such streak in nearly four years.

The S&P 500 sank 1.6% and deepened its losses a day after its worst drop since the war with Iran began. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 765 points, or 1.7%, with a little less than an hour remaining in trading, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% lower.

The losses are a break from Wall Street’s pattern this week, where the U.S. stock market flip-flopped from gains to losses each day as hopes rose and fell about a possible end to the war.

Moments after the U.S. stock market finished trading on Thursday, President Donald Trump offered more potential for optimism. He extended a self-imposed deadline to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants to April 6 if it doesn’t fully allow oil tankers to exit the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz to the open ocean.

Oil prices eased immediately afterward in a sign of hope that some normalcy may return to the strait. It was similar to the relief that swept global markets after Trump said Monday, just before Wall Street opened for trading, that the United States and Iran had held productive talks.

But oil prices resumed their climb as trading moved westward from Asia to Europe and back to Wall Street on Friday. Despite Trump’s latest announcement of a delay, fighting continued in the Middle East. Iran gave no signs of backing down, and Israel threatened to “escalate and expand” its attacks on Iran.

“The diplomatic dissonance this week between the U.S. and Iran dismayed investors,” said Doug Beath, global equity strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute. “By the end of the week, risk appetite could not withstand the fog of war.”

“Any further statements by Trump about a deal are white noise to the markets,” Jim Bianco, president and macro strategist at Bianco Research, wrote in a social media post. “Only if the IRANIANS say the talks are going well will it impact markets.”

The price for a barrel of Brent crude oil rose 3.4% to settle at $105.32. That's up from roughly $70 just before the war began. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 5.5% to settle at $99.64 per barrel.

The fear in financial markets is that the war will disrupt the Persian Gulf's energy industry for a long time. It could keep so much oil and natural gas out of the world’s markets that it sends a punishing wave of inflation through the global economy.

Not only would it raise prices for drivers buying gasoline, it could push businesses that use any trucks, ships or planes to move their products to raise their own prices. It would also make electricity from gas-fired power plants more expensive.

If the war continues until the end of June, strategists at Macquarie say the price of oil could reach $200 per barrel. The record is just above $147, set during the summer of 2008. That’s when Iran’s testing of missiles, including one that could reach Israel, and strong demand for oil from China helped send prices spiking despite the Great Recession.

High gasoline prices and the war are already hitting confidence among U.S. consumers, whose spending makes up the bulk of the economy. Sentiment among them fell slightly more in March from February than economists expected, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.

On Wall Street, the majority of stocks fell, including three out of every four in the S&P 500. The index, which is the main measure of the U.S. stock market's health, is 8.7% below its all-time high set early this year.

Big Tech stocks were among the heaviest weights on the market, including drops of 3.8% for Amazon, 4.4% for Meta Platforms and 2.2% for Nvidia.

Companies selling things that are not essentials, which customers could stop buying if they're spending too much on gasoline, also sank sharply. Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings lost 7.2%, Starbucks dropped 4.5% and Lululemon Athletica sank 3.8%.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell in Europe following a mixed finish in Asia.

In the bond market, which has helped influence Trump's actions in the past, Treasury yields swiveled.

The yield for the 10-year Treasury rose as high as 4.48% Friday before pulling back to to 4.44%. That's up from 4.42% late Thursday and from just 3.97% before the war began. The rise has already sent rates jumping for mortgages and for other loans taken by U.S. households and businesses, slowing the economy.

High Treasury yields and disruption in the bond market were big factors that Trump named a year ago when he backed off his initial threats for global tariffs made on “Liberation Day.” The moves caused critics to allege Trump always chickens out, or “TACO,” if financial markets show enough pain.

On Monday, after Trump announced the first delay to his deadline for bombing Iranian power plants, Treasury yields briefly eased when relief flowed through financial markets worldwide. The S&P 500 jumped 1.1% that day as oil prices fell by more than 10%.

AP Business Writers Chan Ho-him and Matt Ott contributed.

Federico DeMarco works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Federico DeMarco, right, and Dilip Patel work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

FILE - Liberia-flagged tanker Shenlong Suezmax, carrying crude oil from Saudi Arabia, that arrived clearing the Strait of Hormuz, is seen at the Mumbai Port in Mumbai, India, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool, File)

James Denaro, center, and Dilip Patel, left, work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)