Saints headed to Paris, but when?

The NFL has made it its mission to play a set of games internationally throughout the past few years, and it’s been a great experience for teams and players. The next place it looks like they’ll be heading to is Paris, and an NFC South team is getting the bid to play there sometime next season, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

“The New Orleans Saints are expected to play a game in Paris, as early as the 2026 regular season, per their team president Dennis Lauscha. The NFL and stadium officials in Paris are working to finalize a deal to bring the Saints to Paris, with an announcement likely in the coming weeks,” Schefter wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Lauscha made the announcement a day ago, saying that he expects it to be finalized soon.

“You might hear in the next couple weeks that we might be having a game internationally and that game may be in Paris,” Lauscha said. “We (the Saints) have the rights to the country of France and Monaco, so that makes so much sense, we think. We’re really excited about that (possibility).”

There has been interest in the league playing a game in Paris in past years, especially since the NFL has never held a game there. If there were a game played, it would be at Stade de France.

The Saints were granted international rights in France in 2023, which made them the first NFL club to select and be awarded the French market.

It would be a good opportunity for the NFL, and for the Saints, who haven’t played an international game since 2022, when they lost to the Minnesota Vikings in London. They also played in London in 2017, when they beat the Miami Dolphins.

The next steps would be which team the Saints would play this time around.