The National Football League has been holding regular-season international games since 2007, when the league launched the International Series. The series was held only in London until 2016; however, the NFL has expanded its reach to other countries around the globe over the last 10 years.
In 2016, the NFL started hosting games in Mexico. The International Series once again grew in 2022 with the addition of a game in Germany. The NFL then added a game in Brazil in 2024, and contests in Ireland and Spain in 2025. The 2026 international schedule release revealed that the NFL was expanding once again; this time, it would host its first-ever games in France and Australia.
France is the fifth European country to host an NFL game. The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the New Orleans Saints in the NFL Paris Game on 25 October 2026 at the Stade de France for the country’s first NFL game.
The Steelers and the Saints have had very different offseasons to this point.
Pittsburgh signed quarterback Aaron Rodgers to a one-year deal last week, which the 42-year-old veteran said would mark his 22nd and final season in the league after being drafted by the Green Bay Packers in 2005.
Mike Tomlin, who served as Pittsburgh’s head coach for 19 seasons, walked away from the job after the Steelers season ended with a loss to the Houston Texans in the Wild Card round of the NFL Playoffs last season. In Tomlin’s place, the Steelers hired former Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy and Rodgers’ time in Green Bay overlapped, as McCarthy led the Packers as head coach from 2006-2018 and Rodgers was on the roster from 2005-2022. The duo won the 2011 Super Bowl together with the Packers.
The Steelers have gone with a veteran approach to their upcoming season. They have a storied duo at head coach and quarterback, and brought in other experienced players, like 27-year-old running back Rico Dowdle and 31-year-old defensive tackle Sebastian Joseph-Day.
The Saints have had a completely different offseason.
New Orleans selected quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and after he started the latter half of the 2025 season, the Saints have decided to roll with the young quarterback as their starter.
Head coach Kellen Moore took his position with the Saints ahead of the 2025 season, in which New Orleans went 6-11 and sat at the bottom of the NFC South.
The Saints added former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne Jr. during the offseason and drafted wide receiver Jordyn Tyson with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft for more offensive firepower to help Shough succeed at his position.
While both teams have had different offseasons and have different outlooks to their upcoming seasons, both are part of history when they travel to Paris in late October as the NFL continues its global outreach.
The expanded outreach comes with expanded accessibility for NFL fans across the globe and creates more opportunities for people to fall in love with the sport, like so many in the United States have been privileged with. Even television windows make it difficult for international fans to watch games, but the international series secures a few games per season that those fans can tune into or attend just like people in the United States.
The NFL has been expanding its international outreach in recent years and even approved the increase of the International Series from nine games in 2026 to 10 games in 2027 last week. Yet another step toward a more global impact.
