PARIS, FR – The French government has reportedly offered to refund the $15 million Louisiana Purchase following the New Orleans Saints’ latest performance in Paris, saying the 1803 transaction apparently failed to sever all ties between France and Louisiana.
Officials said the original agreement was intended to transfer permanent responsibility for Louisiana to the United States, including its professional football teams and any embarrassment they might eventually cause.
“Napoleon sold that territory 223 years ago,” a French spokesperson explained. “We assumed America understood there would be no returns, exchanges, or international football exhibitions.”
The proposed refund reportedly comes with one condition: the Saints must immediately surrender their fleur-de-lis logo and stop claiming any connection to French culture.
Louisiana officials rejected the offer, pointing out that $15 million wouldn’t cover the team’s payroll for very long.
French historians have since begun examining the original purchase documents for language requiring the United States to keep Louisiana’s football problems on its own continent.
