Travis Kelce has called out an American sports star who could theoretically cost him a place at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
A host of sports will be introduced or re-introduced to the Olympic schedule for LA, with cricket set to make its return for the first time in 128 years.
In addition, baseball/softball, squash and lacrosse have also been proposed as Olympic sports for 2028.
The sixth and final new addition is set to be flag football, which is a variant of American - or, as it is more officially referred to, gridiron - football.
Advert
Instead of playing under traditional rules that you would see in the NFL, defenders must instead remove a flag or flag belt from the player who is carrying the ball.
There is a much greater emphasis on non-contact, and the United States has its own national team already in place.
However, the Daily Mail reported earlier this week that NFL legend Tom Brady wants to come out of retirement to play at LA 2028, even though he will be 50 years of age when the Olympics gets underway.
Other NFL stars could follow him, with Kelce among them.
Four-time global champion in flag football, Darrell Doucette III, told the Washington Post that he believes flag football players have 'subtle but substantial advantages' over NFL players when it comes to competing in the sport.
At 35, quarterback Doucette is still an active member of the US national team and is aiming to compete at the Olympics himself, but added: "We all have one goal in mind, and that's to represent our country.
"We're definitely open to all competition. If those [NFL] guys come in and ball out, and they're better than us, hats off to them. Go win that gold medal for our country."
No form of American football has been held at an Olympics since 1932, meaning current flag football nor NFL stars have ever had the opportunity to compete.
Although Doucette's views seem to be fair, given that flag football has been established in America since the 1940s and has a different skillset, Kelce - who will be 38 during the Games - isn't so sure.
Speaking on his 'New Heights' podcast with brother Jason, the Kansas City Chiefs tight-end asserted: "May the best players play. Is this guy afraid of competition?
"Just have a tryout and the best players make the team. He's just boxing out other people from joining the sport because they haven't played this specific style of football?
"We got some guys that can do some crazy stuff with the ball in their hands, man. Watching Darrell's highlights, even his highlights are f***ing epic. Lamar [Jackson] would be f***... nobody's catching him. Lamar got stocky.
"What if we hold like a combine [of the two disciplines]?"
Topics: Travis Kelce, NFL, American Football, Olympics
Ryan Smart