Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown 'the face of American football' in Germany

Richard Silva, The Detroit News on Nov 13, 2026

Published in Football

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MUNICH, Germany — An originally loud and rambunctious room at FC Bayern Campus became quiet and focused.

The reason for the silence? Word came through that Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown was on his way, and the room full of reporters, dozens of which were from Germany and other areas of Europe, turned its attention toward the door, waiting for Deutschland's brightest football star to walk in.

Football is still a growing sport in Germany, but for those who watch the NFL, St. Brown is a showstopper.

"I would say everybody who is a little bit into football, American football, knows him in Germany," said Marius Dell, a 31-year-old from Heilbronn who was the Lions' nominee for International Fan of the Year in 2024. "He is like the (embodiment) of a player and the face of American football from Germany."

St. Brown isn't the NFL's only player with ties to Germany — Houston's Marlin Klein (Michigan) and Washington's Brandon Coleman, both of whom grew up in the country, are a couple of current examples — but as Dell put it, St. Brown "is the one, the best player we have from Germany."

Hannah Soeltzer, 26, drove two hours from Bamberg on Friday to meet St. Brown after Detroit’s practice and deliver him a gift — a large painting that she poured 40-50 hours into.

Soeltzer, who described herself as a semi-professional painter, typically will spread those 40-50 hours of work across one to two months. But this time under a time crunch, she completed the art in only a week.

"You get home from work, then you paint, which is another work," said Soeltzer, who has a day job in marketing and sales. "Then you go to sleep and repeat."

The painting depicts two images of St. Brown with various motivational phrases surrounding him, including, "Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t."

"It was really nice," Soeltzer said of St. Brown’s reaction to the painting. "He was so sweet about it. He said it was lit and he just talked to me a little bit about it. He really liked it. I've just recently heard that he wants to put it up in his Detroit house."

Seeing the support and love St. Brown has garnered in Germany has been "surreal" for his father, John Brown, who is in Munich with his wife and St. Brown's mother, Miriam, who is from Leverkusen and taught St. Brown how to speak both German and English.

"It’s almost like a dream. ... We go out to Hofbräuhaus, they had his picture up, that’s nice to see. People shaking our hands," Brown said. "But I’m waiting until the game. I think when the the game happens, and the people, if they yell extremely loud or (if there are) a lot of (number) 14 jerseys, then I’ll really get to feel (it).

"But it’s a proud thing. It makes you feel real good."

St. Brown said Friday he feels a responsibility to grow the game in Germany, given his platform and connection to the country. He's done so with his annual youth camp over the last few years, and he'll have the chance to do it again Sunday, when the Lions take on the New England Patriots at Allianz Arena.

"He wants to win, and we all want to win," quarterback Jared Goff said of St. Brown. "I think more than anything, he wants to represent this country in a positive way, and he has in America. ... But being able to do it now in front of these fans, and I'm so excited to hear the reception he gets when he runs out of the tunnel.

"We want to win, and we want to win for him and to let him have that moment. I think he just wants to go out there and have fun and enjoy being in front of a lot of his home fans in a way."