The NFL ’s comfort level with security for the upcoming game in Paris is “very high” despite the ongoing protests in France, commissioner Roger Goodell said at the league meetings on Wednesday.
But with unrest in the city expected to surge on Saturday, Goodell said of the potential need for a last-minute pivot, “We’ll deal with that.”
Last weekend, more than 2,000 people were arrested in Paris as part of widespread protests over the cost of living and the state of education in France. There were at least two deaths and reports of serious injuries .
The Pittsburgh Steelers and New Orleans Saints are scheduled to play on Sunday at the Stade de France just outside of the capital.
The league has been on the ground for well over a week, working closely with both the Parisian authorities and the State Department. Goodell said he had a conversation with Secretary of State Marco Rubio just a few days ago.
On Tuesday, Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s head of international affairs, said, “All of our plans for the Paris game this weekend are moving forward as planned.”
He also said that while they have contingency plans for every game, they’ve yet to seriously consider relocating the game from the Stade de France, the national stadium that hosted major events during the 2024 Olympics.
The NFL is playing a record-high nine international games this season as part of a concerted push to market the game globally. The collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players union allows the league to schedule up to 10 international games in a season, and O’Reilly said they are considering playing that many in 2027.
“All of our events we have going on, we always have a very strong security presence around all of those events,” O’Reilly said. “And that presence will be heightened with local authorities making sure that there’s nothing more important from our standpoint than the team security, the fan security, everybody involved with this game.”
France promises ‘massive’ police presence this weekend as cities impose more curfews after protest violence
O’Reilly acknowledged that ensuring the NFL doesn’t deplete local security resources required elsewhere to quell violence is “a very important factor.”
“As we stand here right now, we feel confident that we would not have any impact on the broader resources needed,” he said.
French authorities have implemented a curfew and expect a significant protest this Saturday.
“We’ve made all the preparations. We’ve been in touch with the appropriate authorities,” Goodell said. “Protests are not unusual in France.”
The matchup between the Steelers and Saints will be the first NFL game in France.
“We look forward to it,” Goodell said, “and I’m leaving shortly to go myself.”
