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, Colognevs.
1020.07.2025Nordic StormBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlinvs.
1127.07.2025Berlin ThunderRhein FireSchauinsland-Reisen-Arena, Duisburgvs.
1309.08.2025Berlin ThunderFehérvár EnthronersFirst Field, Székesfehérvárvs.
1417.08.2025Hamburg Sea DevilsBerlin ThunderPreussenstadion, Berlinvs.


Seasons[edit | edit source]

2025 Season[edit | edit source]

Ulrich Kramer became the new general manager in October 2024. [1] In 2025 he was replaced by Rasheed Moka.

They signed Jag Bal as new Headcoach after the contract from Johnny Schmuck was expired after the Season 2024.They also signed Adam Rita as their new Offensive Coordinator and Art Valero as the new Offensive Line Coach. Both coaches have a lot experience in coaching in North America and Europe.

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 18 403 639 5076 38 21 36 63.1% 282.0 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

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 50 92 160 1225 14 57.5% 13.3 1.8 24.5
Bais Kouanda 3 26 93 144 1038 5 64.6% 11.2 3.6 39.9
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
Bryan Zerbe 3 28 52 97 579 4 53.6% 11.1 1.9 20.7

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
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 11, 2025
2 A-import, 5 E-import, 49 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 5–12 0 0 .294
Johnny Schmuck 2022 – 2024 19–17 1 0 .528

Total record[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Berlin Thunder 53 24 29 0.453 1419 1308 +111

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 4 7 2 5 0.286 150 218

Record per Opponent[edit | edit source]

Games Win Loss Win % P+ P- PDiff
Fehérvár Enthroners 5 5 0 1.000 224 33 +191
Prague Lions 4 4 0 1.000 165 37 +128
Cologne Centurions 3 3 0 1.000 136 50 +86
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
Nordic Storm 1 0 1 0.000 0 35 -35
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
Rhein Fire 3 0 3 0.000 45 118 -73

Source: https://elfdata.eu/

References[edit | edit source]