How a surprise call led to 'dream' St. Brown homecoming in Germany

PHOENIX -- When Amon-Ra St. Brown received a late February text from a team communications staffer trying to orchestrate a FaceTime call with his mother, the Detroit Lions star receiver knew something was up.

So, when he jumped on the video call, he already had an inkling.

On the screen, his mother, Miriam Brown, broke the news to her youngest son that the Lions would be playing a 2026 regular-season game in Germany, her home country.

"You know, you've got a lot of fans in America, but you've also got quite a few in Germany," Miriam, speaking in German, told St. Brown. "And they're going to be very happy this year because you with your Lions are playing in Munich."

Although Detroit's opponent, as well as the date and time, won't be announced until the full NFL schedule is revealed later this spring, the experience will be a dream come true for St. Brown.

Detroit hasn't played an international game in over a decade and never in Germany. The Lions' last international game was Nov. 1, 2015, against the Kansas City Chiefs in London's Wembley Stadium. Before that, the Lions faced the Atlanta Falcons on Oct. 26, 2014, also at Wembley.

This time, the Lions will be playing in Allianz Arena -- the home of Bayern Munich, Germany's most successful soccer team.

"I'm excited. I've seen videos. I've seen teams play there. I've asked players how it was playing in Germany and they all said, 'Man, the fans are electric, they're amazing,'" St. Brown said. "So, it's going to be great just for me to be out there with my teammates, with them and my family to spend some time out there with them and to be able to play football in Germany, which has always been a dream of mine since I was a kid."

On Monday, St. Brown appeared at the NFL's league meetings in Phoenix, where the league dedicated a fair amount of time talking about growing the game of football internationally. St. Brown participated in a private panel, where he spoke about the game's global reach.

"They asked if I wanted to come to this meeting, and I was like, 'Hell yeah, I want to come.' This is going to be a cool opportunity to be in front of all these people and talking to them," St. Brown said. "But just talking about being a global ambassador, being able to play in Germany, what it means and how important that is.

"Spreading the game, not just in America, but nationally or internationally in Germany, France, Mexico. I mean the first game in Australia, there's so many different things going on, and I think the NFL is doing a great job of expanding, and I think they're realizing it's paying dividends for them."

Miriam, who hails from Leverkusen, instilled her German values into St. Brown and his two brothers, and the family made frequent visits to the country when they were growing up. That part of St. Brown's heritage has always been at the forefront of who he is. He is fluent in the language. He wears decals of the German flag on his helmet. And he has hosted football camps across the country since entering the NFL in 2021.

"I think they're starving for football. I think the fans that even know a little bit about football, they're so eager to learn about the sport, so eager to watch the games," St. Brown said.

"The appetite is growing fast, and I've seen it firsthand. I go out there and have my camps out there, and there's people that actually recognize me in Germany, which I think it's crazy because I know how big soccer is and I know how big that sport is over there and for there to be fans and even jerseys in sports shops, like football jerseys, is crazy. I'm just grateful, I'm happy and I'm honored that football will be played in Germany and we'll be part of that."