Anyone who competes in the Olympic Games in Paris has made it. Athletically, but not financially. At least not in Germany. “Sport explains” about the pay of top German athletes.
The financial value of gold, silver and bronze depends on the origin of the athletes – there are big differences between nations. Polish medal winners, for example, are entitled to a lifelong, tax-free pension of around 2,600 zloty, the equivalent of around 620 euros, from the age of forty. Italy’s gold medal winners receive a one-off payment of 150,000 euros and then 30,000 euros each for four years.
Germany lags behind in international comparison
And in Germany? The German Sports Aid Foundation pays 20,000 euros for gold, 15,000 euros for silver and 10,000 euros for bronze. Places four to eight don’t go away empty-handed either. But that’s not really a lot in international comparison – and certainly not in relation to the investment in “training, hard work and pain”.
The likelihood that athletes in Germany can live solely from their sport is low. A study by the German Sports Aid Foundation shows that for 35 percent of the top athletes surveyed, “their financial situation does not allow them to concentrate sufficiently on their sport.” For Olympic participants, the figure is still 21 percent. Competitive sport is a full-time job, but it is not lucrative for everyone. Athletes in Germany earn an average of 1,560 euros gross per month.
Most top athletes are supported by the German Sports Aid Foundation. They are supported from Olympic, Paralympic and Deaflympic sports with a current nomination for the national squad, as well as selected athletes from non-Olympic sports. The foundation supports around 4,000 athletes per year depending on their status, performance and potential. Who gets how much is clearly regulated. On average, the monthly amounts are between 300 and 800 euros. For example, the top team receives 800 euros in basic funding. These are the athletes who are placed in the top eight at the World Championships or Olympic Games or who have achieved a comparable performance. In addition, some athletes, depending on their success in the top team, can be supported for up to 18 months with ElitePlus funding of a maximum of 1,000 euros during their Olympic preparations.
Anyone who is not in the national squad will not receive any support
However, it is not a given that you will be supported by the German Sports Aid Foundation, as the example of Marius Probst shows. The middle-distance runner will compete for Germany in the 1,500-meter race at the Olympic Games in Paris. But he was not supported by the Sports Aid Foundation. Despite a successful 2023 season in which he became German champion, ran a personal best and beat the European Championship standard twice, the Athletics Association did not nominate him for the national squad. And anyone who is not in the national squad does not receive any support. No matter how good he or she is.
Living on sports aid alone is impossible
The fact is: It is impossible to live off of sports aid alone; other means and ways are needed. For example, a so-called federal sports funding agency – i.e. a job with the armed forces, the police or customs. Javelin thrower Julian Weber, who won silver at the European Championships in Rome, for example, is a sports soldier and the European Championship silver winner in the steeplechase Gesa Felicitas Krause is also a trained sports soldier. The deal? After basic training, the athletes can concentrate fully on their sport and are not drafted. The advantage? A fixed salary of between 1,600 and 3,400 euros gross plus 300 to 400 euros from the German Sports Aid. This is closely monitored: those who work for a federal sports funding agency receive less money from the Sports Aid. Sports funding agency plus sports aid – that’s enough for the here and now, but not for big leaps or a secure future.
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In Germany, training and living in a completely relaxed manner and concentrating exclusively on elite sport is something that only those who have sponsors can do. Whether it’s family or corporations. In international comparison, Germany doesn’t fare well in this regard.
In the USA, for example, sport is intensively promoted by universities. German athletes can also benefit from this. And they do. Decathlon shooting star and record breaker Leo Neugebauer has moved to Texas for his sporting careerHe studied and trained in Austin on a scholarship. The University of Texas alone has a sports budget of 220 million euros. By comparison, all of Germany’s elite sports receive 300 million euros in state funding.
Olympic bonus from World Athletics
In Germany, the funding of elite sports is to be reformed. The goal: a sports funding law. What will that achieve? We’ll have to wait and see. At least something is happening. And perhaps it’s up to the associations to better reward top performance. Following the example of World Athletics, for example. The World Athletics Federation has decided to pay an Olympic bonus for the first time at the Paris Games: 50,000 dollars for gold.
