PHOENIX — When Amon-Ra St. Brown got a message in late February from a member of the team’s media relations department attempting to arrange a video conversation with his mother, the Detroit Lions’ star receiver sensed something significant was unfolding.
So, upon connecting to the video conference, he already possessed a prior suspicion.
On the screen, his mother, Miriam Brown, conveyed the information to her youngest offspring that the Lions would be participating in a 2026 regular season match in Germany, her native land.
“Indeed, you possess a considerable fanbase in America, but you also have a fair number in Germany,” Miriam, speaking in German, informed St. Brown. “And they’re going to be exceedingly pleased this year as you, alongside your Lions, will be competing in Munich.”
Despite the fact that Detroit’s adversary, along with the specific date and hour, will not be disclosed until the entire NFL fixture list is unveiled later this spring, the experience will be the realization of a long-held aspiration for St. Brown.
Detroit has not competed in an international fixture for more than ten years, and has never done so in Germany. The Lions’ most recent global match occurred on Nov. 1, 2015, against the Kansas City Chiefs in London’s Wembley Stadium. Before then, the Lions had contended with the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, 2014, also at Wembley.
On this occasion, the Lions will be playing in Allianz Arena — the headquarters of Bayern Munich, Germany’s premier football club.
“I am thrilled. I have viewed footage. I’ve inquired with athletes about their experience competing in Germany and each one conveyed, ‘The supporters are incredibly vibrant and remarkable,'” St. Brown said. “So, it will be splendid for me to simply be present with my teammates, with them and my family, to devote some duration with them there and to be capable of participating in football in Germany, which has consistently been a childhood ambition of mine.”
On Monday, St. Brown attended the NFL’s organizational conferences in Phoenix, where the league allocated a substantial period talking about fostering the global expansion of American football. St. Brown took part in a closed discussion group, where he addressed the sport’s worldwide impact.
“They inquired if I wished to attend this meeting, and my response was, ‘Absolutely, I’m eager to be there!’ This is going to be a fantastic chance to engage with such a distinguished audience,” St. Brown said. “But just talking about being a worldwide representative, being able to play in Germany, its significance and crucial nature.
“Disseminating the sport, beyond America’s borders, across international territories in Germany, France, Mexico. I mean the inaugural match in Australia, there’s a multitude of diverse initiatives underway, and I think the NFL is executing an excellent strategy for expansion, and I think they’re recognizing that it is yielding profitable returns for them.”
Miriam, originating from Leverkusen, imparted her German principles upon St. Brown and his two brothers, and the family undertook regular journeys to the nation growing up. This facet of his ancestry has consistently been central to his identity. He is proficient in the tongue. He adorns his helmet with German flag insignia. And he has organized gridiron football clinics throughout the nation since his induction into the NFL in 2021.
“I think they’re eagerly craving American football. I think the supporters who possess even a rudimentary understanding of the sport, they’re so highly keen to comprehend the game, so highly keen to witness the matches,” St. Brown said.
“The enthusiasm is rapidly intensifying, and I have witnessed it personally. I journey there to conduct my training camps, and individuals actually identify me in Germany, a phenomenon I find remarkable because I am aware of the immense popularity of soccer and I know the vast prominence of that athletic pursuit in that region, and the existence of devotees and even attire, such as gridiron football jerseys, in athletic retail outlets, is astonishing. I am simply thankful, content, and privileged that American football will be contested in Germany and we shall be participants in that event.”