New Orleans Saints fans have been racking up their frequent flier miles, and the NFL couldn’t be happier about it. On Friday, the league announced that Week 7’s game with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Paris attracted a broadcast audience of 10.6 million viewers across France (population 68.6 million, about twice that of Louisiana and Texas put together). That contributed to a per-game average of 18.4 million viewers on Sunday, the NFL’s best performance in Week 7 since the 2015 season.
Despite losing each of their last two international games (the Minnesota Vikings won by a field goal in London back in 2022 and the Steelers maintained far greater control than the 16-10 final tally suggests), the Saints could grab their passports again as soon as 2028.
The Times-Picayune | The Advocate’s Jeff Duncan says their next game overseas will most likely happen in Italy. Duncan added that Milan is the likeliest Italian city to host an NFL game, with Rome as another possibility.
While that’s hardly consolation for Saints fans hungry for a winner, it’s music to Gayle Benson’s ears. The 79-year old owner was very pleased with a trip to Paris that exposed her team to an international audience and allowed her to form business relationships with European movers and shakers. Seeing these record-breaking broadcast numbers will only encourage her to push for another matchup abroad.
But why Italy? The Saints and Cleveland Browns were awarded exclusive marketing rights in the country, allowing them to work on developing a fan base in a new international market without competing against the NFL’s other 32 teams. It would be very frustrating to see New Orleans lost another home game to Roger Goodell’s international ambitions, especially after Louisiana invested so many tax dollars into renovating the Caesars Superdome and supporting the team, so the least the Saints could do is actually win the next time they’re representing New Orleans on the world stage.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Report: Saints could play another international game as soon as 2028
