07-07-2025
Ambassador to France? Saints LB Demario Davis to represent team in Paris
Demario Davis has a big week ahead of him. Luke Johnson reports that Davis is headlining a group of New Orleans Saints representatives on a trip to Paris in the aimed at cultivating fans in France, where the Saints own exclusive marketing rights among the NFL's 32 teams. Rumors have been building about the Saints playing a regular season game in France, an NFL-first, in the near future. Davis and the Saints will be active in Paris from July 10-14.
The Saints are one of just a few teams granted exclusive international marketing rights by the NFL. The Los Angeles Rams own marketing rights in China, Japan, and South Korea; the Miami Dolphins claim both Argentina and Colombia; the Philadelphia Eagles have exclusivity in Ghana and the Cleveland Browns get the same opportunities in Nigeria. The Saints are one of the only NFL teams with exclusivity in a European nation (along with the Los Angeles Chargers' presence in Greece) compared to three teams in neighboring Spain and a whopping 11 competitors in Germany, with nine teams vying for attention in the United Kingdom and a half a dozen pushing and shoving for airtime in Ireland.
Per Johnson, Davis will have an active itinerary. Besides meet and greets with fans, he'll participate in a flag football clinic, visit the U.S. Embassy, and take in a Bastille Day riverboat cruise. The five-time All-Pro has embraced his role as a team leader, and soon he can add this experience to his resume. After Cameron Jordan and his family spent their 2023 offseason vacationing in Spain, the Saints defense will have seen a lot of Europe.
Additionally, Johnson says that team owner Gayle Benson will later join the delegation for a game between the Paris Musketeers and Vienna Vikings; the Saints teamed up with the Musketeers in a unique partnership between the NFL and European League of Football earlier this year. Former Saints third-round draft pick and linebackers coach Jack Del Rio is currently working as the Musketeers' head coach; he's led them to a 5-2 record, tied with the Stuttgart Surge for best in the Division West. The 6-1 Vikings are leading the Division East, so it should be a great game to show off how the sport has developed overseas.
