Brothers and Super Bowl winners: These are the German players in the NFL

First of all, there is Amon-Ra St. Brown, who has an American father and a German mother. St. Brown grew up in Leverkusen with his brother Equanimeous, who also plays in the NFL. Equanimeous is getting regular playing time with the Chicago Bears, but hasn't made his big breakthrough yet. Quite different is Amon-Ra, who is one of the top stars for the Detroit Lions and is gradually becoming one of the best wide receivers in the league.

Jakob Johnson was also used regularly for the Las Vegas Raiders until recently. The fullback has been in the league since 2019. With David Bada, Devery Hamilton and Marcel Dabo, three other players are also trying to be recommended for use in the training squad.

There aren't that many yetle who were on the field when a title was won. The first was Markus Koch, who played for the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) from 1986 to 1992. During his time there he won two titles (1988 and 1992).

Because athletes in the USA grow up with American football, just as children here grow up with soccer, it is extremely difficult to catch up. But the NFL is interested in becoming more international and is also working in Germany to introduce children to the contactless version of the sport (flag football).

But it will take time for this to bear fruit. Particularly talented players in this country can do so via the International Player Pathway Program onto an NFL roster. Teams get an extra place in their team; the number of players is generally limited. Without the fear of being fired (because no one's place is being taken away), European players can get used to the level in the USA.

But the most promising path probably leads through the school system. There are several organizations in Europe that provide football talent to high schools or universities in the United States. Gaining experience there over several years can help. Sebastian Vollmer and Björn Werner, for example, took this path. The latter was the only German player to date to be selected in the first round of the NFL draft.