Franz Wagner
Nobody earns more than the German basketball star
12.09.2025 – 10:19 a.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Not even Dirk Nowitzki got that much money. The German basketball player Franz Wagner rose to a top earner last year-and set a new standard.
Franz Wagner is on the right track to win the next title with the German national team. At the SEM basketball, he will be Germany on Friday with Germany in the semi-finals against Finland (from 4 p.m. in the live ticker at T-Online). It would be another milestone in Wagner’s career after the 2023 World Cup in 2023.
In general, Wagner is now one of the best players in Germany – and probably also worldwide. Otherwise, the Orlando Magic from the NBA would not have extended his contract last year, with an incredible amount until then. Wagner thus rose to one of the best paid German athletes in history.
According to the media reports, the contract has a term of five years and brings Wagner a total of $ 224 million, which corresponds to the equivalent of around 200 million euros (EUR 44.8 million a year). “It’s a surreal feeling. I haven’t really checked it yet,” the Small Forward himself said about his new mega contract.
Under certain conditions, the salary volume could even increase to up to $ 269 million (229 million euros). For comparison: Germany’s largest basketball player of all time, Dirk Nowitzki, earned not so much money with around $ 255 million in the NBA in 21 years. And Franz Wagner also leads clearly compared to other German athletes.
World Cup winner Toni Kroos, who had now finished his career, deserved an estimated 24 million euros a year and led the list for a long time. Manuel Neuer and Joshua Kimmich, who are still playing at Bayern, will probably get a little more than 20 million euros a year.
By the way: Franz ‘Bruder, Moritz (also plays at the Orlando Magic), who is missing from the European Championship due to injury, deserves $ 22 million (EUR 18.7 million) a year in the NBA.