Sean Payton Talks ‘Humbling’ Experience Playing Flag Football Against National Team

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton spoke candidly about his experience coaching flag football.

Payton served as head coach of Founders FFC, one of the teams that competed in the Fanatics Flag Football Classic on March 21. But his team was trounced by the U.S. national flag football team, which won the entire round-robin tournament handily. Payton said Tuesday that he was humbled by how different the two sports are, comparing his team to the Wet Bandits from the movie “Home Alone.”

“Well, that was humbling,” he said at a press conference at the NFL Annual Meetings. “I think this—you remember the Home Alone series, and Macaulay Culkin was inside? Well, Macaulay Culkin was the international team, and I felt like [San Francisco 49ers head] coach [Kyle Shanahan], and I were the two guys outside getting hit in the head with the iron and tripping over the garden hose. It’s an entirely different game, but it was kind of cool to be around those guys. That was a big deal.”

Despite boasting a roster of top NFL talents, including Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver DeVonta Smith, veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs and edge rusher Von Miller, and Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty, Founders FFC lost to Team USA 43–16 in the round-robin game. Founders then lost to Wildcats FFC 34–26 in the elimination round. Wildcats FFC lost to Team USA 24–14.

Last year, all 32 NFL organizations voted to allow players to compete in flag football at the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. One player from each team will be allowed to compete, but the players will have to try out for the team.

But Payton threw cold water on the idea of NFL stars competing in the games.

“I think when this first was announced, there was this feeling there would be 10 NFL players on that roster, and I’ll be surprised if there’s one,” he said. “I think we have plenty of players that can acclimate, but it’s going to take a month or two. And then if you’re one of those players, do you have that month or two? And if you’re training for that, you’re not training [for tackle football.]”

The reason the NFL players struggled so much is that the two games require different skill sets. Professional tackle football prioritizes size and strength; because of the nature of the contact, evasion tactics are less fluid, and players can use power to blow through tackles. Flag football, on the other hand, emphasizes speed, agility, and body control; tackling is not allowed, so players can and do contort their bodies and use all sorts of evasive maneuvers to avoid having their flags pulled.

Hall of Fame NFL linebacker Luke Kuechly talked about the difference between the two games at a press conference after the tournament.

“I think their skill set was very different than anything we’ve seen in the game of the NFL,” he said. “I think the speed, the quickness, the ability to create space—our inability to put our hands on those guys made the game very difficult. … The scheme is very different. The concepts are very different.”

Payton offered high praise for the sport on its own, saying it is in a “good spot” thanks to the exposure they got from a nationally-televised showcase.

“I thought it was great for our international team, and more importantly, great for the women’s side of it, because there’s an avenue where they can play football,” Payton said.

“Talking with one of the women players on the international team for the U.S., they’re recruiting or looking at where does the flag team recruit female players, and they’re looking at NCAA basketball and they’re finding point guards that maybe aren’t tall enough to play further—’she was a college guard,’ and everything is start, stop quick. But needless to say, it’d be easy if we said we didn’t take it seriously, [but we] spent some time on that, and yeah, it was kind of humbling.”