Dominik Eberle (born July 4, 1996) is a German professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...

for the

Berlin Thunder The Berlin Thunder were a professional American football team in NFL Europe. History The Thunder came into existence as an expansion team, after the London/England Monarchs franchise shut down operations, prior to the 1999 season. Home games f ...

of the

European League of Football The European League of Football (ELF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football sports league, league based in Europe, continuing some team names and logos of the former NFL Europe. The ELF played its first season in 2 ...

(ELF). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Utah State Aggies The Utah State Aggies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan, Utah. Utah State fields 16 – seven men and nine women – National Collegiate Athletic ...

. He made his NFL debut in Week 16 of the

2021 NFL season The 2021 NFL season was the 102nd season of the National Football League (NFL). The season was the first to feature a 17-game regular season schedule as the league expanded the season from 16 games. The regular season started on September 9, ...

Early life

Eberle was born in

Nuremberg, Germany Nuremberg (, ; ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the Franconia#Towns and cities, largest city in Franconia, the List of cities in Bavaria by population, second-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Bav ...

in 1996 to Güenther Eberle and Carmen Romero-Eberle. He has one sibling. Eberle moved to California at the age of 14 and attended

Redondo Union High School Redondo Union High School (RUHS) is a public high school in Redondo Beach, California. Redondo Union High School is a part of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. All residents of Redondo Beach are zoned to Redondo Union. In addition, re ...

where he played football and soccer.

College career

Eberle enrolled to play football at

Utah State University Utah State University (USU or Utah State) is a public university, public land grant colleges, land-grant research university with its main campus in Logan, Utah, United States. Founded in 1888 under the Morrill Land-Grant Acts as Utah's federal ...

in 2015 and

redshirt Redshirt, Red Shirt, or Redshirts may refer to: Sports * Redshirt (college sports) Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically ...

ed his first year. After appearing in 4 games in his redshirt first year, Eberle earned starting kicking duties in 2017 as a redshirt sophomore. Eberle performed well appearing in all 13 games, hitting all 47 extra point attempts, and hitting 18 of 24 field goal attempts. Eberle was named a finalist for the

Lou Groza Award The Lou Groza Award is presented annually to the top college football placekicker in the United States by the Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach County Sports Commission. The award is named after former Ohio State Buckeyes and Cleveland Browns ...

. Eberle would go on to start his junior and senior seasons. Eberle finished his career at Utah State hitting 64 field goals and 167 extra points, setting the program record for field goals made.

Professional career

Las Vegas Raiders

After going undrafted in the

2020 NFL draft The 2020 NFL draft was the 85th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2020 NFL season. The first round was held on April 23, followed by the second and third rounds on April 24. The ...

, Eberle was signed to the practice squad for the

Las Vegas Raiders The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas Valley, Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West ...

Carolina Panthers (first stint)

In 2021, Eberle would join the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

practice squad. After being cut and resigned again, Eberle was ultimately cut again from the Panthers.

Houston Texans

Ahead of week 16,

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

kicker

Kaʻimi Fairbairn John Christian Kaiminoeauloamekaikeokekumupaa Fairbairn (born January 29, 1994) is an American professional football placekicker for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). Playing college football for the UCLA Bruins, he was a ...

was placed on the COVID-19 restricted list, and in anticipation, the Texans signed Eberle to their practice squad. On December 26, 2021, Fairbairn was unable to return to the team and Eberle was promoted to debut in his first NFL game against the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

. He was released on January 5, 2022.

Carolina Panthers (second stint)

On January 8, 2022, Eberle was signed to the Carolina Panthers practice squad.

Green Bay Packers

On February 22, 2022, Eberle signed with the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

. On June 14, he was released.

Detroit Lions

On September 9, 2022, Eberle was signed to the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on October 1. He was released on October 4, after missing two extra points in Week 4.

Seattle Sea Dragons

On February 6, 2023, the

Seattle Sea Dragons The Seattle Sea Dragons were a professional American football team based in Seattle, Washington. The Sea Dragons competed in the second incarnation of the XFL. The team was founded by Vince McMahon’s Alpha Entertainment as the Seattle Dragons ...

of the XFL signed Eberle and released kicker Brandon Ruiz. He played in 10 games, making 14-of-18 field goals (77.8%). The Sea Dragons folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).

Berlin Thunder

On April 11, 2024, Eberle signed with the

of the

(ELF).

NFL career statistics

References

External links

Utah State Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eberle, Dominik 1996 births Living people American football placekickers Carolina Panthers players Detroit Lions players German players of American football Green Bay Packers players Houston Texans players 21st-century American sportsmen Las Vegas Raiders players Sportspeople from Nuremberg Utah State Aggies football players Redondo Union High School alumni Players of American football from Los Angeles County, California Sportspeople from Redondo Beach, California Seattle Sea Dragons players