LOS ANGELES – For Tom Brady, throwing the football is like riding a bike – something perfected over time that never leaves your muscle memory.
And during practice for Saturday’s inaugural Fanatics Flag Football Classic, it certainly looked like Brady had spent some time working and preparing for his return to competitive play.
“I feel great,” Brady said, when I asked what kind of shape he was in. “Fortunately, as an athlete your body is your asset over a period of time and you learn how to take care of it. Even when you retire, I felt like I still wanted to do the same things after football when I was playing. I still want to be active. I want to be outside. I want to continue to live a healthy, active lifestyle.
“And I learned a lot of good, healthy habits over the course of a 23-year career. So, it’s basically been the same. I ran and I threw a little bit. I’ve thrown more over the last three months than I’ve had over a period of time. But there’s no feeling like going out there and throwing a football, and to watch it go exactly where you want. I don’t think that feeling will ever get old.”
Brady was the headliner of the three-team flag football event at BMO stadium in Los Angeles on Saturday. Loaded with current and former NFL stars, the three-team tournament featured Team Founders and Team Wildcats as well as Team USA, the reigning world champion in flag football.
The game followed modified Olympic-style flag football rules, featuring two, 15-minute halves with a running clock on a 50-by-25-yard field. All three teams met in a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams advancing to the championship.
Brady’s Founders were beaten by Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow’s Wildcats, as well as Team USA. Those two other teams faced off for the championship on Saturday night.
While the 48-year-old seven-time Super Bowl champ looked like he could still lace him up, Brady dispelled speculation that he was interested in playing for Team USA Football in the upcoming Olympics set for Los Angeles in 2028.
“I would love to play some role in USA flag football, but it won’t be on the field,” Brady said.
However, other current players, like Burrow, were looking forward to earning a chance to play on Team USA Football and represent their country in the Olympics.
“The Super Bowl is obviously the pinnacle of what we do,” Burrow said. “Tom brought up being an ambassador for the game and for the league. And that’s something I take very seriously. And I think the league tries to reward people that go out of their way to help in that context.
“I’ve always wanted to play in the Olympics. I never necessarily played in an Olympic sport before. So, when this got announced, I was pretty excited about it. The opportunity to win a gold medal is something I’ve thought about an opportunity like that for a long time as a kid. And I think it would be something that’s very special.”
Of course, Burrow will have to compete for one of those spots against current players on USA Football like quarterback Darrell Doucette, whose team haven’t lost an International Federation of American Football (IFAF) tournament since 2018.
Doucette said he appreciates the respect elite NFL players like Burrow has shown him and his teammates this week, but also understands Saturday is a prime opportunity to show that he and his teammates can compete with the best athletes in the world.
And that means keeping things close to the vest when it comes to scheme.
“We give them little things like rules, but we’re not going to give them strategies,” joked Doucette. “There’s too much on the line. We’re not going to give them any secrets.”
Doucette did lead Team USA to a 2-0 record on Saturday in round-robin play, impressively beating both teams full of NFL stars.
While he’s looking forward to taking the field again, Brady said the overarching goal is to bring more attention to one of the fastest growing sports in the country in flag football, with the Olympics two years away.
“For me, it’s seeing some of the best athletes in the world try something different,” Brady said. “Some of the skill sets are similar, but the rules are quite a bit different. But really, it’s a great gauge for all these players, and the players that will be playing in L.A. in 2028 to see where we’re at, and what we need to do in the next two years.”
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