2025 German Football League
Sports season
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The 2025 German Football League season is the 46th edition of the top-level American football competition in Germany.
| 2025 German Football League | |
|---|---|
| League | German Football League |
| Sport | American football |
| Duration | 10 May – 11 October |
| Teams | 16 |
| Regular season | |
| GFL North champions | Potsdam Royals |
| GFL South champions | Ravensburg Razorbacks |
| GFL Bowl 2025 | |
| Champions | Potsdam Royals |
| Runners-up | Dresden Monarchs |
The regular season started on 10 May and is expected to end on 7 September 2025, followed by the play-offs.[1][2] The season will be concluded with the GFL Bowl, which is planned to be held on 11 October 2025 in Dresden.
Modus
The league is divided in two conferences, north and south, and both conferences are divided in two divisions. During the regular season each club plays all other clubs in its division twice, home and away, and the teams of the other division of its conference once. In addition, each team plays one home and one away game against a team of the other conference, resulting in each team playing 12 regular season games.[1] Since in the southern conference there is one team missing, there are extra games.
The best four teams in each conference qualify for the play-offs where, in the quarter finals, teams from opposite conferences play each other, whereby the better placed teams have home field advantage. The first placed team plays the fourth placed from the other conference and the second placed the third placed team. From the semi-finals onwards teams from the same conference can meet again.[2]
The eighth placed team in each conference enters a two-leg play-off with the winner of the respective conference of the German Football League 2, the second tier of the league system in Germany. The winner of this contest qualifies for the GFL for the following season.[2]
League tables
GFL
The league tables of the two GFL divisions:
North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Potsdam Royals | 12 | 11 | 1 | 474 | 117 | +357 | .917 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 2 | Dresden Monarchs | 12 | 11 | 1 | 505 | 240 | +265 | .917 | |
| 3 | Berlin Rebels | 12 | 8 | 4 | 351 | 326 | +25 | .667 | |
| 4 | Kiel Baltic Hurricanes | 12 | 7 | 5 | 354 | 327 | +27 | .583 | |
| 5 | New Yorker Lions | 12 | 7 | 5 | 367 | 276 | +91 | .583 | |
| 6 | Düsseldorf Panther | 12 | 5 | 7 | 230 | 311 | −81 | .417 | |
| 7 | Hildesheim Invaders | 12 | 4 | 8 | 240 | 367 | −127 | .333 | |
| 8 | Paderborn Dolphins | 12 | 1 | 11 | 186 | 542 | −356 | .083 | Relegation play-offs to GFL2 |
South
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravensburg Razorbacks | 12 | 8 | 4 | 432 | 350 | +82 | .667 | Qualification to play-offs |
| 2 | Munich Cowboys | 12 | 6 | 6 | 222 | 276 | −54 | .500 | |
| 3 | Pforzheim Wilddogs | 12 | 6 | 6 | 328 | 298 | +30 | .500 | |
| 4 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 12 | 6 | 6 | 313 | 337 | −24 | .500 | |
| 5 | Saarland Hurricanes | 12 | 4 | 8 | 338 | 398 | −60 | .333 | |
| 6 | Straubing Spiders | 12 | 3 | 9 | 268 | 379 | −111 | .250 | |
| 7 | Allgäu Comets | 12 | 3 | 9 | 321 | 385 | −64 | .250 | |
| 8 | Kirchdorf Wildcats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | Withdrew before season |
GFL2
The league tables of the two GFL2 divisions:
GFL2 North
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamburg Pioneers | 10 | 8 | 2 | 385 | 245 | +140 | .800 | Qualification to promotion play-off |
| 2 | Rostock Griffins | 10 | 8 | 2 | 372 | 237 | +135 | .800 | |
| 3 | Krefeld Ravens | 10 | 8 | 2 | 332 | 180 | +152 | .800 | |
| 4 | Langenfeld Longhorns | 10 | 4 | 6 | 267 | 275 | −8 | .400 | |
| 5 | Elmshorn Fighting Pirates | 10 | 4 | 6 | 301 | 362 | −61 | .400 | |
| 6 | Leipzig Lions | 10 | 2 | 8 | 223 | 355 | −132 | .200 | |
| 7 | Lübeck Cougars | 10 | 1 | 9 | 159 | 385 | −226 | .100 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
GFL2 South
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | PCT | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Regensburg Phoenix | 10 | 9 | 1 | 329 | 166 | +163 | .900 | Promotion to GFL |
| 2 | Albershausen Crusaders | 10 | 6 | 4 | 271 | 178 | +93 | .600 | |
| 3 | Gießen Golden Dragons | 10 | 6 | 4 | 193 | 211 | −18 | .600 | |
| 4 | Wiesbaden Phantoms | 10 | 5 | 5 | 247 | 220 | +27 | .500 | |
| 5 | Biberach Beavers | 10 | 4 | 6 | 262 | 287 | −25 | .400 | |
| 6 | Nürnberg Rams | 10 | 4 | 6 | 206 | 321 | −115 | .400 | |
| 7 | Fursty Razorbacks | 10 | 3 | 7 | 111 | 209 | −98 | .300 | |
| 8 | Montabaur Fighting Farmers | 10 | 3 | 7 | 207 | 234 | −27 | .300 | Relegation to Regionalliga |
Rules for classification: 1) Winning percentage, 2) Head-to-head results
After the season had ended, the Fursty Razorbacks, a few weeks later, the Nürnberg Rams announced their withdrawal from the following season. As a result, the Montabaur Fighting Farmers remained in the league.
Postseason
Relegation and Promotion round
| Division | GFL Team | GFL2 Team | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North | Paderborn Dolphins | Hamburg Pioneers | 38–14 | 27–28 | 65–42 |
Since the Kirchdorf Wildcats withdrew from the GFL South, the Regensburg Phoenix got promoted directly.
Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | GFL Bowl | ||||||||||||
| N1 | Potsdam Royals | 42 | ||||||||||||
| S4 | Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns | 25 | ||||||||||||
| Potsdam Royals | 74 | |||||||||||||
| Munich Cowboys | 6 | |||||||||||||
| S2 | Munich Cowboys | 44 | ||||||||||||
| N3 | Berlin Rebels | 31 | ||||||||||||
| Potsdam Royals | 33 | |||||||||||||
| Dresden Monarchs | 23 | |||||||||||||
| S1 | Ravensburg Razorbacks | 42 | ||||||||||||
| N4 | Kiel Baltic Hurricanes | 22 | ||||||||||||
| Ravensburg Razorbacks | 24 | |||||||||||||
| Dresden Monarchs | 31 | |||||||||||||
| N2 | Dresden Monarchs | 41 | ||||||||||||
| S3 | Pforzheim Wilddogs | 22 | ||||||||||||