Germans Are ‘Extremely Excited’ To Host Kansas City Chiefs For 2023 Game

The NFL has designated the Kansas City Chiefs to play in one of the two games in Germany during the 2023 season.

Daniel Jensen, the head of content at SPORTFIVE global sports marketing agency and co-host of a Chiefs podcast called Das Kingdom, was asked for his country’s reaction to the news.

“Extremely excited,” Jensen said. “People are really going crazy right now.”

German Instagram accounts have particularly been buzzing. Wondering how to get tickets, some fans have joked (presumably) about selling body parts to land admission.

The inaugural German game featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Seattle Seahawks in November of 2022 had an attendance of 69,811, but Jensen estimated that 2 million wanted to go because Ticketmaster had a waitlist of 900,000.

Tickets to a Chiefs game likely will be even more coveted.

“They have the most popular team,” Jensen said. “They have the team that gets the best ratings when they’re broadcasted in Germany.”

As part of the NFL’s International Home Marketing Area (IHMA) plan, the Chiefs are one of four teams — along with the Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots — to have marketing, fan engagement and commercialization access in Germany.

Like the Chiefs, the Patriots also will play in Germany in 2023.

But Chiefs have the added draw of being quarterbacked by the presumptive 2022 MVP, Patrick Mahomes.

“Patrick Mahomes probably is the most popular player,” Jensen said. “The last generation was Tom Brady, and now it’s Patrick Mahomes.”

Demonstrating Mahomes’ star wattage in Germany, Jensen co-wrote a German book about the quarterback, and it has sold almost 10,000 copies.

In addition to having Mahomes, the Chiefs have made strong efforts to enhance their brand in Germany.

“It’s the team that is the most active,” said Jensen, who lives in Hamburg. “The Chiefs are really interested in Germany as a market.”

The Chiefs have the highest social media engagement among teams with marketing rights in Germany and even have a tab on their official web site to translate the text to German.

They sent former stars Dante Hall and Tim Grunhard there in April to capture some B-roll footage and as way to further popularize the team.

During the 2002 NFL Draft, former soccer player Oliver Bierhoff officially announced the Chiefs’ fourth-round selection of Joshua Williams from a Chiefs draft party in Munich.

In June the Chiefs and SPORTFIVE, the agency for whom Jensen works, agreed on a comprehensive partnership to help grow their fanbase and business opportunities in Germany.

In August, DAZN exclusively broadcasted the Chiefs’ three preseason games in Germany.

Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt and president Mark Donovan spoke at SPOBIS, Europe’s largest sports business event, held in Düsseldorf in the fall, and the Chiefs launched a merchandise collaboration with DefShop in November.

“We’ve aggressively pursued this opportunity because we know how passionate German fans are about NFL football and we’re committed to the international growth of the game as well as our brand,” Donovan said in a press release. “We are incredibly excited to put the Kansas City Chiefs and all of Chiefs Kingdom on the international stage with a Germany game in 2023.”

This contest will mark the third regular season international game in Chiefs history.

The club previously played the Detroit Lions at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2015 and the Los Angeles Chargers at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in 2019. The Chiefs won both.

The date, time and opponent for Chiefs’ next international game are still being finalized. It likely will take place in either Munich or Frankfurt.

During Thursday’s press conference, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was asked about the opportunity to play in Germany.

He said he’s obviously more focused on the divisional playoff game against the Jacksonville Jaguars but did joke: “I look forward to getting a bratwurst.”

Germany is certainly looking forward to hosting Reid and his Chiefs.

“Lots of the German fans really feel,” Jensen said, “part of the Chiefs Kingdom.”