Tom Brady coming out of retirement to play in flag football tournament

You couldn’t keep Tom Brady off the football field forever.

The seven-time Super Bowl champion quarterback’s post-playing days have treated him nicely. Brady quickly found a spot in the broadcast booth with FOX, serving on the network’s top team as an analyst. He continued to increase his influence by acquiring an ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders.

Now Brady is dusting off the cleats to play in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic, according to a statement obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Monday.

“I couldn’t be more excited to return to the field, get the competitive juices flowing alongside some of the game’s brightest stars and iconic legends, and bring a truly unique global sports event to fans everywhere during Riyadh Season,’ Brady said about his return to football.

Flag football is set to debut as a new event at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and continues to increase in popularity. Brady, who retired in 2023, will play a key role in the upcoming tournament.

‘I have always admired the power of flag football and how it connects fans of all ages, and it’s awesome to be able to showcase the sport on such a global stage while joining together so many incredibly skilled athletes,’ Brady added. ‘I’m looking forward to partnering with Turki Alalshikh, Fanatics, OBB Media, my team at Shadow Lion and my friends at FOX Sports to showcase some fierce competition. And I will be bringing home the trophy.’

The competitive flag football tournament is set to take place on March 21, 2026 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the Kingdom Arena. It features a star-studded list of NFL players who will participate.

Saquon Barkley, CeeDee Lamb, Christian McCaffrey, Sauce Gardner, Myles Garrett, Brock Bowers, Maxx Crosby, Tyreek Hill, Odell Beckham Jr. and Rob Gronkowski are among the participants for the three teams of eight players. The format is a round-robin tournament, with the top two teams competing for a championship.

Additional players will be announced in the coming months. According to the statement, those players will be from across the sports and entertainment industries.

Sean Payton, Kyle Shanahan and Pete Carroll are set to serve as the coaches for the teams.

While the focus remains squarely on Brady’s return to football, he isn’t ready to commit to playing the Olympics just yet.

‘We’ll see,’ Brady told reporters when asked if he would play in the 2028 games. ‘Let’s see how this game goes.’

Brady also pointed out that he thinks there will be plenty of interest in the event going forward.

‘I think there’s a lot of people gonna want to be involved in the Olympics, especially because football players have never had an opportunity to do that,’ Brady said. ‘It’s quite a ways away. I think for me it’s just exciting, I still love throwing the football.’

This tournament follows Olympic-style flag football rules, the statement indicates. Games will be played on a 50-yard field with two 10-yard end zones, a 5-on-5 format and two 20-minute halves.

All the action is set to be broadcast on FOX Sports and Tubi, Fox’s free streaming service, with more details being revealed in the coming months.