The NFL is staging its first regular-season game in Paris this Sunday while France reels from riots, looting, and over 2,000 arrests — and President Trump is asking the obvious question: why is America's game being played in a country on the edge instead of in Pittsburgh or New Orleans?
Trump told reporters at the White House on Oct. 23 that the league should have postponed the Steelers-Saints matchup. "France is really in trouble," he said. "That's what happens when you go left. That's what happens when you allow unlimited numbers of people into your country from very unfriendly countries."
He's not wrong about the trouble. France is experiencing some of its worst urban unrest in years. Demonstrations against the rising cost of living and failing public schools turned violent last weekend, with an estimated 800,000 protesters marching and nights of looting following. French President Emmanuel Macron tightened restrictions on protests on Thursday. French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu ordered partial evening curfews. The local soccer league already moved Paris Saint-Germain's Sunday match to Monday to relieve the strain on police.
But the NFL says it's full speed ahead. Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters Wednesday his comfort level is "very high" and that he spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio about security plans. NFL vice president Peter O'Reilly said the league was "never close" to moving the game.
The State Department, meanwhile, issued a security alert Thursday night telling Americans to "avoid demonstrations and areas of unrest" and specifically cautioned those in Paris for the NFL game to "exercise caution and be aware of your surroundings." The league cancelled a fan event in the Bastille neighborhood and shut down its Paris pop-up store on Saturday. So the NFL is confident — just not confident enough to keep its own stores open.
Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers brushed off the risk. "If it was unsafe, then I'm sure we wouldn't be here," he said at a Friday press conference. That's a lot of faith in a league that has every financial incentive to pretend everything is fine.
And that's the real story. The NFL isn't in Paris for the fans back home. It's there because 32 owners want to crack open a new revenue stream. The league has been pushing international games for years — London, Munich, São Paulo — chasing broadcast rights, merchandise sales, and sponsorship dollars in markets that don't care about American football. Every game shipped overseas is a home game taken from an American city. Every ticket sold in euros is a seat a working fan in Pittsburgh or New Orleans will never sit in.
USA Today framed Trump's comments as an expression of "concern." The Guardian buried his remarks entirely, focusing instead on Rodgers' reassurances and quotes from tourists who say things look calm. Neither outlet asked why a league that generates over $18 billion a year needs to put players and traveling fans in the middle of a country under curfew to sell a few jerseys abroad.
The Stade de France sits in Saint-Denis, about six miles from the areas hit hardest by last week's looting. Police will be split between securing a football game and containing riots. That's the deal the NFL made to chase foreign markets. American fans — and American cities — just aren't profitable enough anymore.
