Transfer with charisma: Helvetic Mercenaries bring NFL star Keelan Cole to the European League of Football

Prominent addition for the European League of Football! The Helvetic Mercenaries have signed former NFL star Keelan Cole for the 2025 season. During his career in the world's best football league, the 31-year-old played for the Jacksonville Jaguars (2017 to 2020), the New York Jets (2021) and the Las Vegas Raiders (2022 to 2023).

During this time, the US American played in 93 games with 197 catches for 2832 yards and 14 touchdowns. Now the wide receiver will prove his class in the “Champions League” of European football.

"A signing with a lot of appeal for the ELF"

“What's good for a franchise is of course good for the whole league. I am delighted for the Helvetic Mercenaries that they have been able to bring an outstanding player like Keelan Cole to Switzerland, from whom the whole team will benefit because he will pass on his experience to the other guys. This is also a signing with a lot of appeal for the ELF and shows that our league is also taken seriously in the USA,” says Patrick Esume, Commissioner of the European League of Football.

The Helvetic Mercenaries had been working on this coup for quite some time, the contact was made through Head Coach Marcus Herford, who once worked with Cole as Co-Offensive Coordinator and Special Teams Coordinator at Kentucky Wesleyan College and has been in regular contact with the pass receiver ever since.

"He really wanted to play in Europe"

“Keelan and I talked about this opportunity four years ago. He really wanted to play in Europe towards the end of his career so he could pass on his knowledge to young players. My expectations are that Keelan can help in so many ways. He has played at the highest level and learned so much that he will be a huge asset to our team. He is very down to earth and really wants to do everything he can to help the team. I'm looking forward to coaching him again and seeing the impact he will have on and off the field,” said Marcus Herford, Head Coach of the Helvetic Mercenaries.

General Manager Chris Rummel made it clear that he came to an agreement with the former NFL star quite quickly. “We were able to convince Keelan of our project and our development plans and he will be in Switzerland for the first team training with all imports. He was aware that the ELF is a development league, but that's exactly what appealed to him. He is eager to contribute his know-how and experience to our team. Having him in our organization for the long term is a great asset for us,” says Rummel.