The NFL Pro Bowl has been a 7-on-7 flag football game since 2023. The game offers a very different vision of football—one that stakeholders increasingly agree is necessary to grow the sport.

So Atwell, a 2021 second-round draft pick who will earn $10 million this season, said he would be cool and fun if he got the opportunity in a few years to try out for the 2028 U.S. Olympic flag ...