Berlin Thunder

From elfpedia.eu

Uniform of the Berlin Thunder football team in 2025.

Berlin Thunder is an American football team based in Berlin, Germany, that plays in the European League of Football (ELF) since 2021.

History[edit | edit source]

Initially, a group of investors led by Roman Motzkus, a former Berlin Adler player and football commentator, planned to establish an ELF team in Berlin, but talks with the ELF broke down in March 2021. Shortly thereafter, the ELF announced that Berlin would still be represented in the league under a different operating company (FBG Football Berlin GmbH). The Thunder's shareholders were Marko Rehmer, Thomas Ebeling, concert promoter Ronny Boldt and entrepreneur and managing director of FBG Levon Melikian. Through a cooperation agreement between the ELF and the National Football League (NFL), the team took over the name of the Berlin Thunder from NFL Europe, which had existed from 1999 to 2007.

The team's first head coach was Canadian Jag Bal, who was fired after the 2021 season. The franchise's first general manager, from May to September 2021, was Heiko von Glahn.

2025 Schedule[edit | edit source]

Week Date Away Team Home Team Venue Score
118.05.2025Cologne CenturionsBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlin14–63
225.05.2025Berlin ThunderMunich RavensSportpark Unterhaching, Unterhaching16–38
301.06.2025Berlin ThunderNordic StormGladsaxe Stadion, Søborg0–35
407.06.2025Berlin ThunderHamburg Sea DevilsStadion Hoheluft, Hamburg14–31
515.06.2025Fehérvár EnthronersBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlin21–38
622.06.2025Munich RavensBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlin35–12
729.06.2025Rhein FireBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlin44–7
913.07.2025Berlin ThunderCologne CenturionsSüdstadion, Cologne45–2
1020.07.2025Nordic StormBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlin53–35
1127.07.2025Berlin ThunderRhein FireSchauinsland-Reisen-Arena, Duisburg7–69
1309.08.2025Berlin ThunderFehérvár EnthronersFirst Field, Székesfehérvárvs.
1417.08.2025Hamburg Sea DevilsBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlinvs.


Seasons[edit | edit source]

2025 Season[edit | edit source]

Management[edit | edit source]

Ulrich Kramer joined FBG Football Berlin GmbH, the company behind the Berlin Thunder franchise, in October 2024 and was initially announced as the team’s new General Manager. In early 2025, he took on an expanded role as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and was briefly listed alongside Rasheed Moka as one of the company’s managing directors. However, his tenure came to an abrupt end in July 2025, following public controversy over critical remarks he made about the team’s fanbase. Shortly thereafter, the franchise officially parted ways with Kramer. His departure occurred during a turbulent phase for the club, marked by financial instability and an ongoing insolvency proceeding.[1] [2] [3]

Coaches[edit | edit source]

After the expiration of Johnny Schmuck’s contract at the end of the 2024 season, Berlin Thunder appointed Jag Bal as their new Head Coach in January 2025. Bal, who had previously served as the team’s defensive coordinator, took over the lead role with the goal of restructuring the franchise’s competitive identity.

To support this transition, the team initially hired Adam Rita as Offensive Coordinator and Art Valero as Offensive Line Coach – both with long-standing coaching experience in North America and Europe. However, both coaches departed the organization early in the 2025 season.

In July 2025, Jag Bal was forced to temporarily step down due to health reasons, as confirmed by the team on social media. As a result, José Schmitt was appointed as Interim Head Coach to lead the team while Bal recovers. [4] [5]

Insolvency[edit | edit source]

In May 2025, FBG Football Berlin GmbH, the operating company of ELF franchise Berlin Thunder, entered insolvency proceedings under self-administration (Eigenverwaltung) at the District Court of Charlottenburg. The case was formally opened on May 10, 2025, resulting in the company's legal dissolution under German law (§ 60 para. 1 no. 5 GmbHG).

Despite this status, the company remained operational. Under Germany’s self-administration framework, the existing management retains control, while the restructuring process is supervised by a court-appointed trustee (Sachwalter).

Under German law, employees of an insolvent company may be eligible to receive up to three months of insolvency wage compensation (called: Insolvenzgeld) from the Federal Employment Agency – provided that the necessary conditions are met and a claim is filed. It is not publicly known whether such payments were requested or granted in this specific case.

The team continued its participation in the 2025 ELF season. No official information has been disclosed regarding the sources of funding used for ongoing operations or player acquisitions during the proceedings.

2024 Season[edit | edit source]

For the 2024 season, the Thunder signed Jakeb Sullivan from the Galaxy as their new quarterback. The Berlin American Football Academy club was the first flag football team in the German Flag Football League 3 in 2024.

Thunder started the season with a defeat in Wroclaw. After two wins against Prague and Fehervar, they narrowly lost to the favored teams Vikings and Fire. In both games, the Berliners led at half-time and let victory slip from their grasp in the final period. This continued throughout the season. Time and again, the Berliners were only able to convince for one half. They finished the season with five wins and seven defeats and clearly missed out on the playoffs.

After the season, Björn Werner retired as sports director and also as owner. At the beginning of October 2024, the demolition of the Friedrich Ludwig Jahn Sports Park began, to be followed by a new building.

2023 Season[edit | edit source]

Berlin Thunder moved to the new Eastern Conference for the 2023 season. New quarterback Slade Jarman was signed. The season was the Thunder's best to date, with eight wins and four defeats. There were straight wins against three opponents, the new franchises from Fehervar and Prague as well as against Leipzig.

They won at home against the Wroclaw Panthers and the Hamburg Sea Devils, but lost away from home. On the other hand, they narrowly lost twice against the defending champions Vienna Vikings: 24-27 at home and 9-16 in Vienna. Berlin finished the regular season in second place in the Eastern Conference and thus advanced to the playoffs, which were expanded to six teams, for the first time. In the wild card round, they were clearly outclassed by Frankfurt Galaxy when the game was abandoned five minutes before the end due to serious injuries to a player and a member of staff.

2022 Season[edit | edit source]

In preparation for the 2022 season, Johnny Schmuck was introduced as the new head coach on September 30, 2021. The team showed itself stronger than the year before. Until the last game day, they kept the chance for the playoffs, but then lost against the Raiders Tirol with 10:37.

At the same time, they were able to increase the spectator average to over 3,500.

2021 Season[edit | edit source]

Thunder finished the first season in fourth place in the North Division with three wins and seven losses. With Nicolai Schumann, Wael Nasri and Adedayo Odeleye, three Berlin athletes were named to the league's first All Star Team. On September 12, 2021, Thunder announced that former German NFL pro Björn Werner became part of the franchise as co-owner and sports director. Diana Hoge was introduced as Heiko von Glahn's successor a few weeks later.

Stadiums[edit | edit source]

The Thunder played the first two games of the 2021 season at Olympiapark-Amateurstadion and then moved to Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark. The stadium was closed after the 2024 season and will be renewed. For the 2025 season Berlin Thunder moved to Preussenstadion.

Player Statistics[edit | edit source]

This section shows the performance data of selected players of the corresponding team.

Passing[edit | edit source]

Only players who have at least 50 passing attempts for this team are included

Name # Exp G CMP ATT YDS TD INT SCK CMP% YPG Y/A
Jakeb Sullivan 2 21 464 733 5779 47 25 38 63.3% 275.2 7.9
Joe Germinerio 1 12 169 306 2443 21 9 24 55.2% 203.6 8.0
Slade Jarman 1 8 180 291 2121 21 10 13 61.9% 265.1 7.3
Calvin Stitt 1 10 91 206 1225 15 7 19 44.2% 122.5 5.9
Donovan Isom 1 4 47 81 587 9 2 8 58.0% 146.8 7.2
Paul Stubbe 1 11 31 56 330 2 1 5 55.4% 30.0 5.9
Ferras El-Hendi 1 5 23 51 178 1 0 6 45.1% 35.6 3.5

Receiving[edit | edit source]

Only players who have received for at least 500 career yards for their team are included in this list.

Name # Exp GP Rec Tgt Yds TD Ctch% YPC RPG YPG
Aaron Jackson 2 23 143 228 2115 26 62.7% 14.8 6.2 92.0
Robin Wilzeck 3 29 107 175 2022 20 61.1% 18.9 3.7 69.7
Nicolai Schumann 5 53 102 174 1312 18 58.6% 12.9 1.9 24.8
Bais Kouanda 3 29 99 157 1139 6 63.1% 11.5 3.4 39.3
Seantavius Jones 1 10 40 84 674 12 47.6% 16.9 4.0 67.4
Albert Wiesigstrauch 3 27 67 92 604 2 72.8% 9.0 2.5 22.4
Niklas Schumm 1 10 41 68 599 5 60.3% 14.6 4.1 59.9
Bryan Zerbe 3 28 52 97 579 4 53.6% 11.1 1.9 20.7
Tyler Foster 1 9 50 69 569 5 72.5% 11.4 5.6 63.2

Kicking[edit | edit source]

Only players who scored at least 20 points are included in this list.

Player Seasons Active GP FG Made FG Att FG % FG Long (Max) XP Made XP Att XP % FG PTS XP PTS Total PTS
Jonas Schenderlein 4 40 34 51 66.7% 56 51 90 56.7% 102 51 153
Nils Schauerte 1 10 5 9 55.6% 35 14 19 73.7% 15 14 29
Dominik Eberle 1 5 4 8 50.0% 52 18 22 81.8% 12 18 30

Rushing[edit | edit source]

Only players who have at least 500 rushing yards for this team are included

Player # Exp GP Rush Att Rush YDS Avg Rush LNG Rush TD Fumbles Lost
Jocques Crawford 2 22 398 2145 5.4 81 16 10
Tim Schulz 3 30 171 595 3.5 19 4 3
Albert Wiesigstrauch 3 28 160 569 3.6 59 10 2

Rosters[edit | edit source]

2025 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams


Off the roster

Roster updated July 16, 2025
4 A-import, 5 E-import, 47 homegrown
56 active, 0 practice squad



Legend
Name = A-Import
Name = E-Import
Name = Season-ending


2024 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured reserve



Roster updated July 25, 2024
4 A-import, 6 E-import, 50 homegrown
60 active, 0 practice squad



Legend
Name = A-Import
Name = E-Import
Name = Season-ending


2023 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Injured reserve

Practice squad


Roster updated 18 August 2023
4 A-import, 6 E-import, 42 homegrown
52 active, 3 practice squad



Legend
Name = A-Import
Name = E-Import
Name = Season-ending


2022 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks
  •  9 Joe Germinerio  🇺🇸
  • 18 Ian Gehrke WR 

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Practice squad


updated 04 June 2022
4 A-import, 8 E-import, 44 homegrown
55 active, 1 practice squad



Legend
Name = A-Import
Name = E-Import
Name = Season-ending


2021 Roster[edit | edit source]

Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams



Roster updated 18 June 2021





Legend
Name = A-Import
Name = E-Import
Name = Season-ending


Head Coaches[edit | edit source]

  • Any w/o games are not included
  • Record includes reg. season & playoff matches
  • Playoffs = participations
Coach Tenure Record Playoffs Titles Win%
Jag Bal 2021, 2025 6–12 0 0 .333
José Schmitt 2025 0–2 0 0 .000
Johnny Schmuck 2022 – 2024 19–17 1 0 .528

Total record[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Berlin Thunder 56 25 31 0.446 1506 1432 +74

Record per Season[edit | edit source]

Season Conference Rank Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- Playoffs
2021 North 4 10 3 7 0.300 228 296
2022 Northern 2 12 7 5 0.583 321 282
2023 Eastern 2 12 8 4 0.667 378 188 Wild card round @ Frankfurt Galaxy 3-20
2024 Eastern 3 12 5 7 0.417 378 318
2025 North 3 10 3 7 0.300 237 342

Record per Opponent[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Fehérvár Enthroners 5 5 0 1.000 224 33 +191
Cologne Centurions 4 4 0 1.000 181 52 +129
Prague Lions 4 4 0 1.000 165 37 +128
Stuttgart Surge 2 2 0 1.000 78 19 +59
Istanbul Rams 2 2 0 1.000 79 21 +58
Barcelona Dragons 2 1 1 0.500 35 51 -16
Panthers Wrocław 8 4 4 0.500 221 242 -21
Leipzig Kings 5 2 3 0.400 138 129 +9
Hamburg Sea Devils 7 1 6 0.143 115 238 -123
Paris Musketeers 2 0 2 0.000 64 75 -11
Frankfurt Galaxy 1 0 1 0.000 3 20 -17
Raiders Tirol 2 0 2 0.000 26 65 -39
Vienna Vikings 4 0 4 0.000 62 102 -40
Munich Ravens 2 0 2 0.000 28 73 -45
Nordic Storm 2 0 2 0.000 35 88 -53
Rhein Fire 4 0 4 0.000 52 187 -135

Source: https://elfdata.eu/

References[edit | edit source]

  1. https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/sport-leidenschaft/berlin-thunder-hat-zumindest-schon-mal-einen-neuen-general-manager-li.2262701
  2. Berlin Thunder on Instagram: “Ulrich Kramer becomes new General Manager” – October 2024, https://www.instagram.com/reel/DKphCn2yfzQ/
  3. Instagram post announcing the departure of Ulrich Kramer, July 2025, https://www.instagram.com/p/C9rZcNcKJ9F/
  4. Berlin Thunder on Facebook: “Jag Bal becomes new Head Coach” – January 2025, https://www.facebook.com/BER.Thunder/posts/1045714887616988
  5. Berlin Thunder on Facebook: “Gute Besserung, Coach Jag Bal” – July 2025, https://www.facebook.com/BER.Thunder/posts/1116016170586859/