The NFL announced a crowd of 78,488 for its first regular-season game in France on Sunday, a near-capacity turnout at Stade de France for a Pittsburgh win over New Orleans that went ahead after two weekends of protests across the country.
The number matters to the league beyond one afternoon. Hours before kickoff, Roger Goodell said he had “zero doubt” the NFL would stage another game in Paris, and he called an international franchise “likely,” while giving no date and no city.
A full house after a tense week
The Steelers beat the Saints 16-10, moving to 5-2 and dropping New Orleans to 2-5. Our recap has the full game. The announced figure left only a few thousand seats of the stadium’s capacity unused.
The setting had been in doubt for days. Demonstrations over the cost of living and school conditions led to close to 1,000 arrests on Saturday alone, and the league moved or called off several fan events that sat near approved march routes. The Steelers had already dropped a planned fan gathering in the Bastille district. The kickoff time and venue never changed, as we reported on Saturday.
Goodell’s Sunday message
Goodell spoke at a breakfast hosted by Saints owner Gayle Benson on the morning of the game. His promise of a return built on what he said in Paris on Friday, when he told an interviewer a franchise in the French capital was possible someday and that no further games in France would be announced until the first two had been played. That interview set a long-term goal of 16 games abroad a year.
Joe Browne posted the commissioner’s breakfast remarks on Sunday morning.
NFL Commish Goodell at Sunday breakfast sponsored by @Saints owner Gayle Benson today said he had “zero doubt” NFL would be back in Paris with another game and also said it was “likely” there would be an international NFL franchise but…did not say when or where.
— Joe Browne (@JBeonTheHill) October 25, 2026
Not everyone at league headquarters puts it the same way. Peter O’Reilly, the executive who runs the NFL’s international games, has said a team based abroad is not a day-to-day focus for his staff. The more concrete expansion is in the schedule: Goodell has named Tokyo as a coming destination, saying a game there could come within the next two seasons, and the league has discussed as many as 10 international games in 2027, the most the current labor agreement allows.
The international season so far
Paris was one of three first-time hosts in 2026, alongside Melbourne and Rio de Janeiro, in a record slate of nine games abroad. Plans for a game in France were held back first by the pandemic and then by the 2024 Olympics.
What comes next
The international schedule continues with Cincinnati against Atlanta in Madrid on Sunday, November 8, New England against Detroit in Munich on Sunday, November 15, and Minnesota against San Francisco in Mexico City on Sunday, November 22. The Steelers host Cleveland on Sunday, November 1. The Saints have a bye, then host Cleveland on Sunday, November 8.
No published comments yet. Start the conversation.