Sean Stellato advances with Italy’s flag football team, eyes World Games roster

Sean Stellato advanced to training camp with the Italian Men’s National Flag Football Team, putting the NFL agent one step from a roster spot for the World Games in Germany. Adam Schefter wrote on X that Stellato will report to the Italian Olympic Committee headquarters in Rome next month for the next stage of the selection process.

Stellato said in a social-media post that he was “grateful to have advanced to training camp” and called representing Italy “an incredible honor.” The tryout has already taken him through Copenhagen, Denmark, where a May 23 New York Post story said the 48-year-old Massachusetts native was competing for a place on Italy’s flag football team. His athletic background also gives the bid an unusual profile: Schefter said Stellato played Division I football and basketball at Marist College before later playing professional arena football.

The selection comes with major stakes beyond one roster. The World Games in Germany sit on the path toward flag football’s Olympic debut at Los Angeles 2028, and the international calendar is already crowded around that push. The International Federation of American Football said the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships will be held in Düsseldorf, Germany, from August 13-16, with 32 teams from 19 nations and about 700 athletes and team members taking part. Italian men’s and women’s teams are also expected to compete in that tournament.

Italy has recent results that make Stellato’s run more than a novelty. IFAF reported on September 27, 2025, that Italy was crowned men’s champion in the Euro Flag Finals Men, a sign that the country has become one of Europe’s stronger programs. Germany, the host nation for the 2026 world event, has also been a consistent power, with IFAF noting on February 24, 2026, that it has twice finished runner-up in the men’s competition, including silver at the inaugural IFAF Flag Football World Championships.

That backdrop explains why Stellato’s name has traveled beyond flag football circles. He is better known in NFL spaces as the agent for New York Giants tight end Chris Manhertz and former Giants quarterback Tommy DeVito, but his advance into Italy’s camp places him inside a sport trying to widen its reach before the Olympic spotlight hits Los Angeles.