What Is Happening in New Orleans Sports?

It is rare for two professional franchises in the same city, under the same owner, to collapse at the exact same time. Yet that is what is happening in New Orleans.

The Saints and Pelicans, both owned by Gayle Benson, have entered a period of turbulence that has left fans frustrated, confused, and searching for answers.

When you look at their recent records side by side, the pattern becomes impossible to ignore.

The Pelicans closed the 2024–25 NBA season at 21–61, one of the worst records in the league, before opening the 2025–26 season 3–16. That is a massive fall from a 49–33 campaign just one year prior.

Meanwhile, the Saints finished the 2024 NFL season at 5–12, their worst record since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

This year, they are already off to a 2–9 start and facing similar questions about direction, leadership, and consistency.

To understand what is happening, you have to look beyond ownership and explore the deeper structures of each franchise.

On the surface, it seems odd. Gayle Benson offers stability, financial support, and a deep investment in the community. She is respected throughout New Orleans.

But team performance is shaped by far more than who signs the checks.

Each franchise exists in an entirely different competitive ecosystem, with different roster-building rules, salary structures, coaching demands, injury patterns, and development timelines.

Ownership provides framework, not outcomes.

The Pelicans have dealt with instability for years.

Even after showing promise in the early 2020s, they struggled to maintain a consistent identity. The 2024–2025 collapse revealed problems in both roster balance and coaching leadership, leading to changes behind the scenes and a rocky start to the following season.

Injuries, stalled development, and a lack of cohesion created a perfect storm.

The Saints have faced a different kind of decline.

Transitioning out of the Sean Payton and Drew Brees era left the franchise with a leadership vacuum that has been extremely difficult to refill.

Even during seasons with winning records, the team struggled with offensive identity, inconsistent quarterback play, and late-game execution. Those cracks widened in 2024 and carried into 2025.

The roster still has talent, but the overall structure is not producing results. Coaching questions, roster decisions, and lack of stability at key positions have all played their part.But what makes the situation even more striking is the symmetry of the downturn.

In both franchises, the 2023–24 seasons suggested upward momentum.

The Pelicans posted a strong 49–33 record, and the Saints bounced back with a winning season.

But then everything bottomed out the next year.

Fans are more than right to wonder how two major teams in the same city can slide backwards so dramatically and so simultaneously.

But the answer lies less in ownership and more in the internal operations of each franchise.

The NBA and NFL are brutal leagues that punish inconsistency, poor drafting, and weak leadership. The Pelicans and Saints each have their own separate challenges. But what they share is timing.

These parallel struggles could be the moment where both franchises are forced to evaluate their long-term direction.

Coaching changes, roster retooling, and organizational restructuring are all on the table.

The next decisions will determine whether this is a temporary dip or a defining turning point in the Benson era.