Rod Wood: Lions Desire To Play in Germany in 2026

Wood would like Lions to play in Germany due to Amon-Ra St. Brown connection.

President and CEO Rod Wood stands on stage during the Detroit Lions' new uniform reveal event inside Ford Field in Detroit on Thursday, April 18, 2024. | David Rodriguez Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK

If you read the tea leaves, there’s a solid shot the Lions will play overseas in 2026, something the organization hasn’t done since the 2015 season in London.

Detroit was set to return to the United Kingdom during the 2020 season, but then the COVID-19 pandemic took the world by storm and caused the NFL to cancel the international trip. 

If Lions president Rod Wood has it his way, the team will take a trip to Germany during the 2026 campaign. A big reason why: star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown’s German heritage. 

St. Brown’s mother, Miriam Steyer, was born in Leverkusen, Germany, and the All-Pro wideout possesses dual American and German citizenship. He also speaks fluent German.  

To no surprise, he’s gained quite the following in the Western European country, and Wood would like to capitalize on that popularity. 

“We kind of took a back seat going into the international market, let some other teams go in there, figure out what does work, what doesn’t work. So, we’ve been able to learn from other teams and hopefully take advantage of that,” Wood told Lions beat writer Tim Twentyman on the “Twentyman in the Huddle” podcast. “We’re off to a pretty good start in Germany, with a couple of potential sponsors. And (Amon-Ra) St. Brown is a huge, popular player over there. You see guys wearing his jersey, he speaks fluent German. So, we’ll benefit from being in Germany with St. Brown.” 

While momentum is building for Detroit to play overseas next year, there hasn’t been any indication provided by the league yet, according to Wood. 

“There’s no promises or threats of it, but I think it’s going to be our turn probably in ‘26,” the Lions front-office executive expressed. “When you have your ninth home game, once every eight years, you have to give up one of those to play internationally and we’re overdue. If we were to go, I voiced an interest to play in Germany because of the marketing efforts there and the St. Brown connection. We’ll see what happens with that, but that’s a possibility for sure.”

While speaking with Twentyman, Wood also conveyed that the organization made upgrades this offseason to its locker room and weight room at its Allen Park practice facility. And per Wood, the renovations came as a result of the season-ending survey filled out by members of the Lions’ roster.

“It’s all about making the players feel like they’re appreciated, their voice is heard, and when they come to work, it’s a good place to be,” Wood expressed. “It helps them get better, and helps them want to stay there longer. All those things are important.”