As for Sunday’s highly anticipated matchup between the Saints and Steelers at Stade de France – the first NFL game in France – Goodell called it a very fitting matchup for the City of Lights.
“(The Saints are) the perfect team here because of their obvious connection to France, and they’re very proud of that. I think that part of the culture and that connection will be wonderful for this event,” Goodell said. “But having the Steelers here too, it’s pretty cool. They’re a global brand and they obviously have a lot of fans around the world. It’s going to be a great football game, and that’s what matters too.”
Pittsburgh played the first NFL game in Ireland in 2025, a victory against the Vikings at Croke Park in Dublin. New Orleans’ three previous international stays were all in London.
Part of the NFL’s international effort includes expanding access to flag football and developing relationships with media partners.
Goodell discussed these two initiatives with Rosenthal and Rodrigue.
On flag football: “Well, probably what I get the most benefit from, and I guess it’s a reward, is watching young people play our sport because there are so many great things that you get from playing this sport. It’s confidence, it’s the ability to compete, it’s the ability to get through it. Resilience and teamwork are so important in our game, as you know. As a father of two daughters, seeing young women play our sport, it’s even more rewarding because I think, especially during these toughest years for all of us, growing up, it gives you the ability to understand yourself better and give you confidence in yourself. I think it’s the future of sports because we see men and women competing and we see them competing together in some cases in flag football, which is also fun to watch, and it’s a way for kids to really, really understand (more) this game, but more importantly, themselves.
On global media partnerships: “They’re all important, whether it’s your media partnerships, your sponsors or, frankly, attendance at games, but they all have to be coordinated. They all have to work together. Ultimately, as you know, even in the United States, the media partners are the ones that give you the most access to the fans, and you all do that. You learn a lot more about the game, the players, the strategy, what’s going on in the league. So media partnerships are really key to us, and we are looking for the best media partners, as much as possible, to have a global reach and be able to offer fans the best possible experience, no matter what platform they want to watch on.”
The NFL Paris Game 2026 will begin on Sunday at the Stade de France at 9:30 a.m. ET. The league’s next international offerings are Bengals-Falcons in Madrid (Week 9), Patriots-Lions in Munich (Week 10) and Vikings-49ers in Mexico (Week 11).
Gn sports
