The 2023 NFL International Games designated teams!
pic.twitter.com/zfQoUdNrxk
— NFL (@NFL) January 19, 2023
This could be interesting. The New Orleans Saints traveled to England in 2022 to play the Minnesota Vikings during a nominal home game in London, and they could go abroad again in 2023 for a game with the New England Patriots in Germany — the NFL announced this week that the Patriots are one of five teams who will move home games overseas next season, playing either in Frankfurt or Munich. And the Saints are on their list of home opponents.
Of the five teams who will be hosting International Games matchups, the Saints are scheduled to play three of them; however, they’ll face off with both the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars in New Orleans, meaning their only opportunity to kick off in another country will be in that Patriots game. The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills will also move home games overseas but neither team is on the Saints’ list of scheduled opponents for 2023.
So that’s something to watch out for, especially if you’re a Saints fan in Germany or a neighboring nation. Newly-introduced NFL rules require teams to move a home game abroad once every 8 years, but there’s no requirement for how often teams will travel as the “visiting” squad. New Orleans lost a home game last year for that Vikings tilt, so this 2023 Patriots game is in play for their role as visitors.
Last year, Germany hosted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks at Allianz Arena, the 75,000-seat home of FC Bayern Munich. The NFL has committed to hosting games in both Munich and Frankfurt over the next four years but it has not announced which city the Patriots (and their opponent, possibly New Orleans) will visit.
Now, how likely is it that the Saints will be picked to make the trip? That remains to be seen. They received just three prime-time night games in 2022, a single late-afternoon kickoff, and that early-morning (American time, at least) Vikings matchup. Unless they move mountains this offseason and energize the fanbase to draw a ton of media attention over the summer, odds are the NFL’s broadcast partners and schedule-makers will continue to be down on them. There are frankly more exciting teams to feature internationally, and with European fans having just gotten a look at the Saints in 2022, it feels unlikely they’ll be tabbed to fly out again in 2023. We’ll find out when the NFL announces its schedule in a few months.