Chad Johnson (aka Ochocinco) will be joining Michael Vick and Justin Forsett in the inaugural game of The American Flag Football League on June 27.
The former NFL receiver, who obviously still loves playing, made the announcement on his Twitter account Sunday.
https://twitter.com/ochocinco/status/873017560077406211
The professional flag league is the brain child of Jeff Lewis, whose son plays flag football.
“I just thought to myself, ‘what would this look like if great athletes played this?’” Lewis said, per Darren Rovell of 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.”
The league hopes to have eight teams in time for the 2018 season. Obviously this is attractive to players like Vick and Johnson who are no longer in the NFL. The league could also attract college players who don’t make it to the NFL.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how much interest the league garners nationally. Traditionally, pro football leagues not named the NFL don’t last long.