The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They currently belong to the Southern Division of the National Football Conference (NFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

Founded in 1967, the Saints have struggled throughout their history. Their early years were especially bleak; they went more than a decade before they managed to finish a season with a .500 record and two decades before having a winning season. Their greatest years of success were from 1987-1992, when they made the playoffs four times. The team experienced a brief renaissance in 2000, defeating the St. Louis Rams in dramatic fashion for the team's only playoff win.

Due to damage caused by Hurricane Katrina to the New Orleans area, the Saints' 2005 home games were split between the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas and Louisiana State University's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. All of the team's 2006 regular season home games are scheduled to be played in the Superdome, with the first game at the Superdome on September 24 of that year. It is undetermined where the Saints will play in 2007 and beyond.

Currently, the Saints are one of three teams, along with Jacksonville and Houston never to have played in either a Super Bowl or any other NFL Championship Game. They are the oldest franchise with that dubious distinction.