As for Sunday’s highly anticipated game between the Saints and Steelers at Stade de France — the NFL’s first game in France — Goodell called the matchup a great fit for the City of Light.
“(The Saints are) the perfect team here because of their connection obviously to France, and they take such great pride in that. I think that part of the culture and that connection is gonna be wonderful for this event,” Goodell said. “But having the Steelers here, too, is pretty cool. They’re a global brand and obviously have a lot of fans on a worldwide basis. It’s gonna be a great football game, which is what counts, too.”
Pittsburgh played in the NFL’s first game in Ireland in 2025, a win over the Vikings at Dublin’s Croke Park. New Orleans’ three previous international stints all came in London.
Part of the NFL’s international push includes expanding access to flag football and developing relationships with media partners.
Goodell touched on both of those initiatives with Rosenthal and Rodrigue.
On flag football: “Well, the thing that I probably get the greatest benefit from, and I guess it’s a reward, is watching young people play our sport because there’s so many great things you get from playing this sport. It’s the confidence, it’s the ability to compete, it’s the ability to come through. Resilience and teamwork is so important in our game, as you know. As a father of two girls, to see young women playing our sport, it’s even more rewarding because I think, particularly during those more difficult years for all of us in growing up, it gives you that ability to sort of understand yourself a little better and give you self-confidence. I think it’s the future of the sport because we’re seeing men and women compete and we’re seeing them compete together in some cases in flag football, which has been fun to watch also. It’s accessible, and it’s a way for kids to really, truly understand (more) about this game, but more importantly, themselves.”
On global media partnerships: “They’re all important, whether it’s your partnerships in the media or sponsorships or, frankly, playing the games, but they all have to be coordinated. They all have to work together. Ultimately, as you know, even in the States, the media partners are the ones who give you the greatest access to the fans, ultimately, and you all do that. You get to learn a lot more about the game, the players, the strategy, what’s happening in the league. So, media partnerships are really critical to us, and we look for the best media partners, as many as we can, and have that global reach and to be able to give fans the best experience possible, whatever platform they want to watch on.”
The 2026 NFL Paris Game kicks off from Stade de France on Sunday 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 City (Week 11).
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