What is the salary of a professional volleyball player?

It’s no secret that professional footballers are often millionaires and can therefore make a very good living from their sport. Even after their career. But is that also the case for volleyball players? What is the salary of a professional volleyball player? And is there a difference in women’s and men’s volleyball? Read here about it!

Anzeige

What is the salary of volleyball players in German Bundesliga?

In Germany, there are only real volleyball professionals in the 1st Volleyball Bundesliga. There are generally no professionals in the lower leagues. However, even in the Volleyball Bundesliga, there are sometimes amateurs under contract who earn no money at all. Young volleyball players in particular, who play very few matches, often don’t get a salary. In return, they have the opportunity to practice with the best volleyball teams in Germany and get the chance to prove themselves once in a while.

Anzeige

“Normal” salary is the rule

Basically, players earn different amounts depending on their team and performance level. For regular players, a „normal“ gross salary of 2,000 to 3,000 euros is the rule in the German Volleyball League. However, such professional volleyball players almost always get an apartment and a car provided by the club (even if this is sometimes not so legal). The salaries in men’s and women’s volleyball in Germany are not particularly different.

Anzeige

In clubs that play internationally, salaries are often higher. Here, good volleyball players receive salaries of between 30,000 euros and 35,000 euros net per year. Very good players, such as Sergey Grankin from the BR Volleys, probably earned even more. Salaries of up to 60,000 euros per season are realistic for such international stars. If they are successful, a bonus is often added on top. Many players often geht more money with sponsorship contracts.

Anzeige

German national team

By the way, German national players do not receive any money for international matches and do not even have health insurance. If they do get anything, it is only a modest bonus if they are successful. That’s why they only play for honor and to present themselves internationally so that clubs from abroad become aware of them.

Salary in european volleyball leagues

Big money is made other european volleyball leagues. There is now a lot of money in professional leagues such as Poland, Italy, Russia and Turkey, which attracts the best volleyball players in the world.

Take here a look at all volleyball livestreams for free and legal.

Anzeige

Cuban professional volleyball player Wilfredo Leon, who is probably the best volleyball player in the world, earned 1.4 million dollars a year during his time at Zenit Kazan. But female volleyball players don’t have to hide from high salaries either. The Italian top earner is Paola Egonu with an estimated annual salary of 800,000 euros including bonuses. And Serbian diagonal attacker Tijana Bošković is said to earn 2.5 million euros per season at Turkish club Eczacıbasi. The fortune of Sheilla Castro, probably the richest volleyball player in the world, is estimated at 12 million dollars.

The highest-earning German volleyball professional is Georg Grozer. He has played in all sorts of leagues at the top international level, including Russia, Italy and Qatar. In Russia at Lokomotiv Novosibirsk he earned about half a million dollars a year, which the club boss Roman Stanislavov confirmed in an interview. In China he probably earned even more at the Shanghai club.

A maximum of one foreign player per team is allowed to play in the South Korean V.League. These players are selected by the clubs in drafts, for which volleyball professionals can register. If they are successfully drafted, they receive a salary of 200,000 dollars per season, and even 300,000 dollars the following year.

Anzeige

In the Philippines, the highest-earning players earn just 6,600 euros a month.

Check the YouTube channel out for more volleyball content!

Professional volleyball is also played in the United Arab Emirates. There, „talented players“ are paid salaries of up to 5,000 dollars per month. If they are successful including hotel costs. For seasoned volleyball professionals like Denis Kaliberda, who is currently playing for Baniyas, it is probably considerably more.

Anzeige

Business-minded volleyball players

But there are also players who earn more than their club salary. They invest in start-ups or build up another business during their career. Georg Grozer is in the real estate business and is ambassador for the curved table tennis table „Teqball„*. French superstar Earvin Ngapeth is active in completely different sectors and is a rapper called „Earvin“. German libero Ivan Batanov is also active as an investor and is building up an e-commerce business. For example, he sells a card holder with a coin pocket* on Amazon.

Anzeige

Conclusion

Professional volleyball players can live well on their salary during their career. However, they have not really provided for the time after their career, unless they are already dealing with other income possibilities during their active career. This is why there are many volleyball players who study and then look for a „normal“ job. Compared to footballers, who can earn several hundred million euros a year, the salaries in volleyball are of course a joke.

Note: There are no player contracts that are publicly available. Therefore, you can only rely on estimates or industry insiders.

Anzeige