Michael Vick to play for new American Flag Football League
Michael Vick may have retired from the NFL in February after sitting out the 2016 season, but the one-time star quarterback isn’t done playing football just yet.
Vick has committed to play with the new American Flag Football League, which will stage a game next month in San Jose before launching in full next year with eight league-owned teams, according to an ESPN report.
Former Pro Bowl running back Justin Forsett also is slated to take part in the trial game, which takes place June 27 at Avaya Stadium in San Jose.
Vick, 36, a four-time Pro Bowler who recently had ankle surgery, is also an advisor for the league, as are several other former NFL players, including Isaiah Kacyvenski, Rob Konrad and Donovin Darius.
Only seven players will be on the field at a time for each team, but the field will be the traditional 100 yards. Games will be 60 minutes long.
Flags will be connected to players magnetically, and officials will be able to track exactly where a flag came off.
Financier Jeff Lewis came up with the idea for the league during one of his son’s flag football games last fall.
“I just thought to myself, ‘What would this look like if great athletes played this?’ ” Lewis told ESPN. “There’s certainly a huge pool to take guys from. Every single year, NFL teams cut 800 guys. We need less than 100 players to field eight teams.”
Twitter: @chewkiii
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