DFB and national team players at odds over World Cup bonuses before tournament kickoff

DFB president Bernd Neuendorf had already stressed in May that the association was conducting "gute Gespräche mit dem Mannschaftsrat" but did not want to hold the negotiations in public. The previous week in Chicago, Neuendorf had likewise been unable to announce a final agreement. In addition to the president, DFB managing director Andreas Rettig is also involved in the talks.

Sticking point: FIFA payments in case of early exit

According to those involved, the dispute is less about the bonus for a possible title win and more about the FIFA payouts to the DFB in the event of an early exit in the knockout stage. The background is the complex structure of the competition, significantly enlarged to 48 teams, in which bonuses rise with every round survived. In the negotiations, the DFB had also pointed to planning uncertainties caused by the dollar exchange rate and differing regional tax laws in the USA.

Compared to the home Euro 2024, where each player would have received 400,000 euros in the event of winning the title, the sums at a World Cup with a total of 871 million US dollars in the participants' pool are potentially significantly higher. After the quarterfinal exit against Spain, the 26 German Euro players had each received 100,000 euros. The highest bonus in DFB history was paid by the association in 2014 to the world champions around captain Philipp Lahm in Brazil, at 300,000 euros per player.

Bonus history: From 2,500 Deutschmark to millions

At the previous tournaments in 2018 in Russia and 2022 in Qatar, however, the German players came away empty-handed, each time after a group-stage exit. The 1954 world champion squad around Fritz Walter, the so-called "Wunder von Bern", had received 2,500 Deutschmark per player, a tube television, a motor scooter, and a leather suitcase.

Kimmich, who leads the team out as captain in 110 international matches, assessed the ongoing negotiations soberly. "Das ist ein schöner Nebeneffekt, der einem zusteht, weil man auch abliefert. Aber der Erfolg motiviert uns mehr als die Kohle", the 30-year-old said at the start of World Cup preparations in late May in Herzogenaurach. He also had the impression that the DFB was economically "auch wieder besser gehe".

FIFA raises bonuses after protests

At the end of April, following protests from major associations including Germany and England, FIFA had increased its bonuses. Each of the 48 participating teams now receives 12.5 million US dollars, two million more than before. Prior to the adjustment, 50 million US dollars for the world champion and nine million US dollars for the 16 teams eliminated in the group stage had been under discussion. The staggered bonuses expand the DFB's financial room for maneuver in the event of a deep tournament run.

Despite the ongoing talks, it is considered unusual that the details have not been conclusively settled before the first match. The opening match against Curaçao kicks off on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. local time in Houston and will be broadcast live on ARD and MagentaTV. For Tah and Kimmich, this means not only the sporting start of an uncertain tournament mission, but also the conclusion of a negotiation that has gained considerable momentum behind the scenes in recent weeks.

Observers see the late agreement as an indication that the financial dimensions of the first 48-team World Cup are setting new standards even within the DFB. While the association is pushing for a balanced risk distribution between player bonuses and association budget, the team council emphasizes sporting performance as the true motivation. The fact that no quick solution was found on the eve of a historically large tournament shows the explosiveness of the issue — and at the same time how much money now flows in top-level international football.