International opportunity has been flowering for the New Orleans Saints this spring.
In February, the National Football League announced the Saints would play as the home team in the first regular-season game in Paris, France. Then in March, the league granted the team international marketing rights in Italy.
While it hasn’t been made official yet, the Black & Gold are expected to face the Cleveland Browns on Oct. 25. The game will be played at the Stade de France, France’s largest stadium, which is home to the French national soccer and rugby teams and has previously hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics, a FIFA World Cup, Rugby World Cup, UEFA Champions League Finals, and UEFA European Championship Finals.
It will mark the Saints’ fourth regular season contest overseas following three prior appearances in London, England.
“We are excited to be selected to play in the first regular season game to take place in France,” said Saints owner Gayle Benson when the NFL announced the game. “This moment is special not only because of the strong cultural connection between Louisiana and France, but also because we will compete before a growing Saints fan base in Paris.”
After seeing the success Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association have had internationally, the NFL launched its Global Markets Program in 2022 with the aim of securing international marketing rights for NFL clubs to build brand awareness and fandom through fan engagement, events, commercial opportunities and youth flag football development.
The league awarded the Saints international marketing rights in France in 2023. Since then, the organization has worked with Louisiana Economic Development (LED) to promote the team, city and state in the country.
In the summer of 2025, Saints officials visited France to strengthen the connection between the team and fans abroad and to promote American football.
The NFL reports it has more than 14 million fans in France, with more than 8,000 boys and girls participating in its flag football program.
“Bringing a regular season game to Paris in 2026 marks an exciting next step in the continued expansion of the league’s global footprint,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “Paris is one of the world’s greatest sporting and cultural cities with tremendous success in hosting global events that unite fans on the biggest stages. Playing our first-ever regular season game at the impressive Stade de France, together with the New Orleans Saints, underlines our continued global growth ambitions and we look forward to bringing the NFL to our passionate fans in France.”
Louisiana and New Orleans have strong historical and cultural bonds with France dating back more than three centuries. In 1682, French explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle named the then-colony to honor King Louis XIV of France. In 1717, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville discovered a crescent bend in the Mississippi River and proposed that the new capital of the colony be built there. The founding of New Orleans in the spring of 1718 honored Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, then-regent of the Kingdom of France.
Today, evidence of ties between the city and state and France are ubiquitous.
Because the 2026 NFL Paris Game is a league‑led event, a limited number of tickets will be made available to eligible Saints season ticket holders via a lottery. Details are expected to be released in late June or early July.
In years past, playing a “home game” overseas cost a team and their fans a game in their home stadium; however, the Saints will still play eight games at Caesar’s Superdome next season.
“The league-wide commitment to the Global Markets Program is helping to accelerate fandom of our league, clubs and players around the world, deepening our international footprint and bringing our game closer to fans globally,” NFL Managing Director and Head of International Gerrit Meier said.
With international marketing rights granted to Italy, could that conceivably mean the Saints will play there in the near future?
All roads lead to Rome.
Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football.
