We’ve known the NFL and the New Orleans Saints have had designs for an international game in France for a while now, but it sounds like that movement is picking up some momentum. Kickoff for the NFL’s first-ever regular season game in France, in Paris at the nation’s capital, could be scheduled for as soon as 2026.
“You might hear in the next couple weeks that we might be having a game internationally and that game may be in Paris,” Saints team president Dennis Lauscha said Tuesday, via the Times-Picayune’s Jeff Duncan. “We have the rights to the country of France and Monaco, so that makes so much sense, we think. We’re really excited about that.”
Lauscha told the Greater New Orleans Quarterback Club that talks between the NFL and officials for the 80,000 seat Stade de France are ongoing. France’s largest stadium was a host site for the 2024 Summer Olympics, and it’s a natural venue for the NFL’s debut in the country. The Saints were granted those exclusive marketing rights Lauscha mentioned back in 2023, and they’ve since partnered with the European League of Football’s Paris Musketeers (coached by former Saints linebacker Jack Del Rio) to raise awareness of the sport. New Orleans also sent a goodwill delegation led by Demario Davis and Gayle Benson to Paris this summer.
So it sure looks like the Saints are embracing an opportunity to lead the charge to Paris. What’s less certain is who they could be playing there. We’ll make a couple of assumptions that the goal is to play this game in 2026, and that it’ll count as an away game for New Orleans, giving the team all nine home games in Louisiana next season. In addition to their rivals in the NFC South (with divisional games rarely played internationally), that leaves the Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, and the same-place finisher in the NFC East. Right now, that last team would be the New York Giants.
However, the NFL could choose to designate the Saints as the home team given their marketing situation, which would include the same NFC South opponents along with the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, and same-place finishers in the NFC West and AFC West. That would be the Arizona Cardinals and Las Vegas Raiders, based off current standings. Because they already played one home game overseas (a loss to the Minnesota Vikings in London, in 2022) and relocated another due to 2021’s Hurricane Ida, no NFL team has played fewer games in front of their home crowd since the 17-game schedule was created than the Saints. Losing another home game would hurt, even if there’s some real prestige in playing in Paris instead.