The son of a member of the US military, Jermaine Jones spent his early years in the United States before returning to Germany with his mother.  This allowed Jermaine to play for either the USMNT or Germany.  He chose Germany, appearing for their youth teams.  With Jones not getting capped at senior National Team level, a FIFA rule change allowed him to switch to the United States in 2009. 

A broken leg took him out of contention for the 2010 World Cup squad, and Jones received his first cap against Poland on October 9th, 2010 in Chicago. 

At club level, Jones is an established talent in Germany's Bundesliga, playing first for Eintracht Frankfurt before moving to Bayer Leverkusen, back to Frankfurt, and ultimately signing with Schalke 04 for the 2007-08 season. Jones left Schalke during the 2014 January transfer window, signing with Besiktas in Turkey's Super Lig. Jones saw out his contract with Besiktas, joining the New England Revolution in August, 2014. The day before the start of the 2016 MLS season, Jones signed with the Colorado Rapids.