Salaries in the NBA: What are the earnings for basketball players from Germany? - Earnings of NBA Players: Breakdown of Income for German Basketball Prodigies
In a historic moment for German basketball, Isaiah Hartenstein has become only the second German after Dirk Nowitzki to win the NBA championship. Hartenstein, who plays for the Sacramento Kings, was a key contributor to their triumphant season.
However, Hartenstein's celebration was short-lived as he was forced to withdraw from the German national team due to an Achilles tendon injury, missing the upcoming European Championship. His teammate, Moritz Wagner, also suffered a setback and will be unable to participate due to an injury.
The financial success of German basketball players, particularly those in the NBA, has been on the rise. Isaiah Hartenstein earns an impressive $29 million (around €25 million) per year, making him one of the highest-paid German athletes. The best-paid German athlete overall is Franz Wagner, who earns between €38 and €53 million annually.
The exact salaries of Moritz Wagner, Hartenstein, and Nowitzki are not publicly disclosed. In the NBA, the minimum salary is $1.1 million, a far cry from the multi-million dollar contracts earned by top players like Hartenstein.
In the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), top players are estimated to earn mid-six-figure sums. However, the figures are not as transparent as in US sports. Johannes Voigtmann, the German co-captain of Bayern Munich, is estimated to earn around €1 million brutto, making him the highest-earning player in the BBL.
Captain Schröder, another member of the DBB team, has confirmed that the bonuses for the European Championship have been agreed upon and are now clearly written down. The German basketball team, which won the 2023 World Championship and received a silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Games in Paris, may receive success bonuses from the association if they perform well at the European Championship, but the exact amounts have not been disclosed.
Franz Wagner, who plays for the Orlando Magic, signed a contract worth at least $224 million (€192 million) until 2030, with potential bonuses that could increase the contract value to $269 million ($231 million). His older brother, Moritz Wagner, earns a bit less, with a current contract worth around €19 million over two years, or €9.5 million per year. Tristan de Silva, like the Wagner brothers, plays for the Orlando Magic and earns around $3.6 million ($3.1 million) per year.
Dennis Schröder, a member of the DBB team and the German player under contract with the NBA team Sacramento Kings, has joined the Kings and is expected to earn $45 million ($38.7 million) over three years, equating to an annual salary of almost €13 million in euros. Schröder, who is expected to be the starting point guard for the 2024–25 season, is another example of the financial success enjoyed by German basketball players in the NBA.
Sources for this information include ESPN (1), ESPN (2), ESPN (3), Basketball World, "Sport Bild", and the "Braunschweiger Zeitung".
