Dominant European Players Who Shined in the NFL

Multiple European kickers spent years in the NFL and have multiple Super Bowl championships to their credit. Fast-forward to the modern-day NFL, and there are plenty of European NFL players to highlight.

We broke the list of the best European NFL players into retired stars and the ones still in the NFL.

Let’s look at the top European players in the NFL.

Best Retired NFL Players From Europe

5. Jan Stenerud

Norwegian kicker Jan Stenerud held the NFL record for career field goals when he retired in 1985. He helped the Kansas City Chiefs win their first Super Bowl title.

It could be argued that Sebastian Janikowski, who grew up in Walbrzych, Poland, was the second-best kicker from Europe.

He came to the U.S. and played both soccer and football at Seabreeze High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. He would be a two-time winner of the Lou Groza Award as the top kicker in college football at Florida State.

The Raiders took him in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played 17 of his 18 seasons with Oakland. Three times in four seasons, Janikowski had the longest field goal in the NFL, and he is currently tied for the 10th-most field goals in NFL history.

4. Leo Nomellini

Nomelli, born in Lucca, Italy, was a 10-time Pro Bowl selection. He played in high school at Crane Tech and suited up for Minnesota in college before the San Francisco 49ers selected him 11th overall in the 1950 NFL Draft. He started every game he played in a 12-year span and was a standout defensive lineman for all 14 of his NFL seasons with the 49ers. He is considered one of the best NFL international players of all time.

3. Ernie Stautner

Stautner, born in the territory now recognized as Bavaria, and Nomellini were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1969.

Stautner stood out at Vincentian Institute in Albany, N.Y., before heading to Boston College.

Stautner, also a standout on the defensive line, was taken 11 spots after Nomellini in the 1950 draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He made it to the Pro Bowl nine times in ten years before retiring in 1963.

Stautner won two Super Bowls during his long stint as an assistant coach with the Dallas Cowboys.

2. Morten Andersen

Andersen, a native of Denmark, retired in 2007 with an NFL record of 565 field goals. Adam Vinatieri has since eclipsed that record.

Andersen played in 382 games, more than any other player in NFL history. In 2017, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Andersen’s name is often mentioned when discussing NFL players from other countries.

1. Bronko Nagurski

The final spot could easily have gone to offensive lineman Michael Roos or running back Jay Ajayi. However, we are going with Nagurski.

He was born in Canada, but his ties to Ukraine make him eligible for this spot.

Nagurski played fullback, linebacker, and tackle during a Hall of Fame career with the Chicago Bears. However, multiple years were lost due to World War II.

A three-time NFL champion, Nagurski had his No. 72 retired at the University of Minnesota and his No. 3 by the Chicago Bears. He was so good on defense in college that the Football Writers Association of America created the Bronko Nagurski Award for the best defensive player in college football.

Best Current NFL Players From Europe

5. Brandon Coleman OT, Germany

The rookie has been the starting left tackle for the Washington Commanders, helping fellow rookie Jayden Daniels put up impressive numbers at quarterback.

Coleman was born in Virginia but grew up in Berlin, Germany, before returning to the United States for high school.

4. Bernard Raimann OT, Austria

Raimann grew up in Steinbrunn, Austria, and began playing organized football as a teenager. As a high school junior, he spent a year as an exchange student in Michigan, living with a family that included a former Central Michigan football player.

He had to serve in the military in Austria. When that commitment ended, he returned to Michigan and had a successful run at Central Michigan, which led to him being drafted by the Colts in the third round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He has started in 39 of 44 games in his three seasons with the Colts. He is among the best current European NFL players.

3. George Karlaftis, Greece

It is easy to overlook the defensive stars of the Kansas City Chief with the attention focused on quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce. However, there are some key players on defense as well.

Athens, Greece native George Karlaftis has 24.5 sacks in 49 regular-season games after being selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He led the NFL with three sacks during the 2022 NFL playoffs as he was a member of the Super Bowl championship team for the second time in as many years. He is among the best international NFL players.

2. Kyle Hamilton, Greece

Hamilton, who is 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, is among the most athletic safeties in the NFL. He was born in Heraklion, Greece, and was a Pro Bowl selection in two of his first three seasons.

After an impressive college career at Notre Dame, he was the 14th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, which put him on the radar of NFL teams.

1. Amon-Ra St. Brown WR, Germany

The star receiver of the Detroit Lions was born in California but holds dual American and German citizenship because his mother, Miriam, is a native of Leverkusen, Germany. That is good enough to be considered one of the most productive foreign NFL players.

A fourth-round pick out of USC, he has topped 100 catches during the regular season in each of his last three seasons. He had a career-high 12 touchdown catches during the 2024 regular season as he helped the Lions earn the top seed in the NFC playoffs. He is one of the reasons why the latest NFL lines and odds have the Lions as a team to beat in the battle for the Super Bowl.