The NFL’s biggest stars have had to freshen up on their German skills with the nation now part of the fabric of American Football with regular-season games played at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park and Hertha Berlin’s Olympic Stadium.
Germany hosted its fourth NFL regular season game on 10 November 2024, with the New York Giants falling 20-17 to the Carolina Panthers at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, in a clash that further cemented the football-loving European nation’s bond with the US sport.
Regular season games have also been staged in Frankfurt, while Berlin will be the venue for an NFL fixture in 2025.
The NFL International Series began in 2007, taking games outside of the USA, starting in London. Wembley, Twickenham and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium have since hosted 38 games between them, and in 2022, a growing population of supporters in Germany finally got their chance to see their heroes.
It was worth the wait too. Germany, and specifically Munich, was rewarded for its patience with reigning Super Bowl champions the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and star quarterback Tom Brady – the seven time champion who is widely considered the greatest of all time.
Fans got to witness Brady at his best as the Buccs took down Super Bowl XLVIII champions Seattle Seahawks by a score of 21-16 in front of 69,811 fans, and post-game Brady summed up just how big a success the inaugural German match was.
“That was one of the greatest football experiences I’ve ever had,” he said. “It says a lot for 23 years in the league and for a regular-season game. I think the fan turnout was incredible. It felt very electric from the time we took the field. The end of the game, with them singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ and ‘Country Roads’, that was pretty epic. So I think everyone who’s a part of that experience got to have something pretty amazing, a memory for the rest of their life. So thank you for hosting us, we appreciate it. Thank you.”
Understandably, the rest of the Bundesliga was desperate for their turn, and Eintracht Frankfurt got there next by signing a two-game deal with the NFL for 2023.
Again, the teams did not disappoint in the slightest. On 5 November, Frankfurt’s Deutsche Bank Park welcomed 2019 champions the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes, who downed the Miami Dolphins 21-14.
A week later, joint-record Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots took on the Indianapolis Colts in a 10-6 defeat for the Pats, with both games boasting over 50,000 spectators travelling from all over the world to see their heroes.
In 2024, the NFL returned to Munich, and of the 13 million people who live in Bavaria, few were more excited than Bayern’s very own Harry Kane. The England captain has regularly travelled Stateside to watch his second favourite sport, and has a dog named Brady after the legendary quarterback who he’s spent plenty of time with.
Kane has also said that he “definitely wants to explore” becoming an American football kicker after his soccer career is over, and given his prowess from the penalty spot, he certainly has the patience, mindset and accuracy to make it work.
He will also be able to get some training in too, as Bayern have forged close ties with the NFL since they first hosted a game in 2022. Bayern had already played at the Chief’s Arrowhead Stadium in 2019 during pre-season, and have trained with clubs on US tours. Bayern also entered into a player development partnership with FC Dallas in 2018, a deal which US international Chris Richards make his way over into Bayern’s academy and later their first team.
Frankfurt have also felt the connection, with the Eagles heading across the Atlantic before the 2024/25 season for a US tour, the second in the club’s history. They’ve also staged youth soccer clinics in Hartford and Philadelphia, showing just how close the bond has become.
The Bundesliga itself is even embedded in US culture. The league opened an office for the Americas in 2018 in New York, and multiple clubs have followed suit, including double winners Bayer Leverkusen who took their trophies over to show employees at the start of the season.
Only London and Mexico have hosted more NFL International Series games than Germany, and the way things are going, Bundesliga fans are likely to get plenty more chances to enjoy ‘the greatest show on turf’.
