Published October 24, 2026 09:01 AM
With one day more to go until the Steelers and Saints play in Paris, the NFL shouldn’t wait one hour more to relocate the game.
No matter how safe and secure Stade de France will be for the game, it’s not safe for NFL fans to be in Paris due to protests that from time to time morph into full-blown riots.
Consider the latest moves made by the league as to the collateral activities. Via the Associated Press, the NFL announced on Saturday the closure of its “NFL House” event, due to “potential accessibility issues.” Previously, the Steelers Fan House event was scrapped. The “Saints House” has been postponed until Sunday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department issued a security alert cautioning “Americans in Paris for the NFL game” to “exercise caution and be aware of their surroundings.”
Why would the NFL insist on pressing forward? The risk, however big or small it may be, isn’t worth it.
The league has said security at the game will be enhanced. Which necessarily means security resources that could be utilized elsewhere in the city are being devoted to something that is far from a necessity.
Also, no matter how secure the stadium is, the fans who have bought tickets to the game will need to get to the perimeter where the NFL’s security plan activates.
A soccer match between PSG and Lyon recently was moved from Sunday to Monday, at the direction of French authorities. If the NFL won’t do the prudent thing and move the game to London, the powers-that-be in Paris should direct the NFL to bump Steelers-Saints to Monday, too. (That would shift the game broadcast to Monday morning or afternoon, New York time. Which could inadvertently unlock a new standalone window for future NFL games.)
It’s surprising that it’s gotten to this point. The warning signs have been obvious for weeks. On Friday, even the President chimed in. And the league’s determination (or, more accurately, stubbornness) to proceed has led to a situation in which the NFL may still be forced to make an eleventh-hour-and-fifty-seventh-minute decision to do something other than play the game as scheduled. Which, for the teams, will only add to the overall in-season inconvenience of traveling to another country to play a football game.
There’s no reason to wait. They should make the move now.
We’re not privy to all of the specifics. The generalities continue to suggest that the league absolutely should pivot from the plan to play in Paris at 3:30 p.m. local time on Sunday.
Why assume the risk that any fan will be endangered as they try to get to the game? Why take any risks that the enhanced security will be overrun by an event that the protester-rioters could see as a perfect opportunity to make their message resonate internationally?
It seems to be increasingly obvious that relocation of the game is the right call. Even if nothing happens, there’s already a cloud over the league’s first-ever Paris game. And if there’s even one incident in connection with playing the game as planned, the NFL will risk being dubbed what the French call les incompétents.