Indianpolis Colts Ride To Germany For First NFL Regular-Season Game In Berlin
Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 01:43PM By Barry Janoff
January 15, 2025: In the next step in compiling its 2025 international schedule, the NFL today said the Indianapolis Colts would play as the designated team in the league’s first regular season game in Berlin, as part of the 2025 International Games.
Earlier this week the league named the New York Jets, Cleveland Browns and Jacksonville Jaguars as teams that would play in London next season.
According to the NFL Germany Web site: “NFL verkündet Indianapolis Colts als Heimmannschaft beim NFL Berlin Game 2025" (“Indianapolis Colts Announced as Designated Team for 2025 NFL Berlin Game”).
“Das NFL Berlin Game 2025 wird im Olympiastadion Berlin ausgetragen und ist Teil eines mehrjährigen Engagements für NFL Spiele in der Sportmetropole” (“The NFL Berlin game will be played in Olympic Stadium as part of a multiyear commitment to staging games in the sports metropolis.”)
The decision follows the team being granted marketing rights in Germany (and Austria) last April as part of the league’s Global Markets Program.
The initiative awards NFL clubs international marketing rights to build brand awareness and fandom beyond the U.S., through fan engagement, events and commercial opportunities.
The Colts previously played a game in Germany — in Frankfurt in November 2023, defeating the New England Patriots— as well as one in London.
They also have a direct tie to the city via global ambassador and former outside linebacker Björn Werner, a native of Berlin and first round draft pick who played for the team from 2013-15.
He currently is co-owner and sports director for the Berlin Thunder of the European League of Football and is a commentator and analyst for NCAA and NFL games on German television.
“The NFL is making history in Berlin, and the Colts are proud to be part of this landmark event in one of the world’s most historic cities,” Colts owner and CEO Jim Irsay said via the team. “The NFL has become a global brand, and we’re looking forward to growing American football in Germany and expanding Colts Nation’s footprint around the world.
“This game also provides a unique opportunity for our local Indiana partners to engage with German businesses, customers and fans this season and in the future.”
The Colts’ opponent, along with game date and kickoff time, will be shared when the full 2025 NFL schedule is revealed this spring.
The team has launched a site for people who seek priority access to game tickets and related information.
Germany is a strategic location in the NFL’s plan to build its worldwide footprint. The NFL said it has an estimated 20 million fans in Germany.
“Beyond the NFL international games, the league is committed to growing the game at every level in Germany, engaging with fans year-round through partners, programs and initiatives,” according to the NFL.
Ten other teams also have marketing rights there under the Global Markets Program, including the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The league said its inaugural game in Germany — Tampa Bay vs. Seattle Seahawks — in November 2022 had a $77 million economic impact for Munich, with more than $35 million in direct spending in Munich.
Its two games in Frankfurt in 2023 had an overall economic impact of about $119 million for that city when the Miami Dolphins played the Chiefs and the Colts faced the Patriots on consecutive weekends in November.
The Munich game on Nov. 10 this past season between the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants attracted a sell-out crowd of 70,132 to Allianz Arena, with economic impact figures still to come.
“The game provides a unique opportunity for our local Indiana partners to engage with German businesses, customers and fans this season and in the future.”
“Germany is an important market for the NFL, with continued growth in fandom and passion for the game,” Alexander Steinforth, NFL Germany GM, said via the league.
“After four successful international games in-market across Munich and Frankfurt, we’re thrilled to have the Colts as the designated team for our first-ever regular season game in Berlin in 2025 — a city that holds so much football history and is a true testament to the international expansion and growth of the league.”
NFL Flag — the NFL’s official program for non-contact football — launched in Germany three years ago, with 20,000 girls and boys participating nationwide.
“We look forward to welcoming the Colts to our sports metropolis,” Iris Spranger, Senator for the Interior and Sports, State of Berlin, said via the NFL.
“It will be a football festival like we have never experienced in Berlin before. For the Colts. For the fans. And as they say in Indianapolis: For the Shoe!”
The NFL played five American Bowl games in Olympic Stadium between 1990-94; it was also home to NFL Europe’s Berlin Thunder from 2003-07.
The venue, which seats nearly 74,500 people, holds a historic place in sports history as the place where Jesse Owens won four track-and-field gold medals during the 1932 Summer Olympics.
Beginning in 2025, the NFL can schedule up to eight league-operated regular season games internationally.
The NFL will play two regular season games in London's Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2025 featuring the Jets and Browns as designated teams.
The Jaguars will return to Wembley Stadium in London for a "home game," the team's 14th in the city, as part of their multi-year commitment to playing a game in the U.K.
A game in Madrid in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium has also been unveiled.
The league is also planning to return to Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the first time since 2022 following stadium innovations. After its debut September in São Paulo, the league is expected to be back in Brazil.
Teams in these games are still TBD.
Fifty-five regular season NFL games have been played around the world throughout the league's history, with London, Munich, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto all hosting games to date.
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