Compensation of Professionals at Kennedy Space Center
Karlsruhe SC: A Seasoned 2. Bundesliga Player
For years, Karlsruhe SC has been a consistent force in the 2. Bundesliga. After climbing from the 3. Liga in 2019, KSC has been looking upward rather than down - at one point, even a promotion to the Bundesliga seemed within reach. In today's professional football, ambitious plans demand solid financial backing. While money doesn't score goals, as the saying goes, transfer fees and salaries continue to rise.
Naturally, questions arise: What do the players at Karlsruhe SC earn? Who is the highest-paid player at KSC? And where do KSC salaries stand in the league average? Let's shed some light on these questions.
Salaries in the 2. Bundesliga: KSC in the middle of the pack
Player salaries in football are rarely disclosed by the club or the player. Only estimates are typically available. Capology, a company aiming to increase transparency in the football industry, provides data on player salaries, which is based on estimates and internal sources.
Capology predicts that Karlsruher SC will spend approximately 8,930,000 euros on player salaries in the 2024/25 season—roughly 170,000 euros per week. In the 2. Bundesliga average, KSC falls within the lower midfield. Several clubs, including Jahn Regensburg, 1. FC Magdeburg, SC Paderborn, SV Elversberg, Preußen Münster, and SSV Ulm, pay lower player salaries on average. In contrast, five clubs are set to spend over 20 million euros on salaries in 2024/25:
- Hertha BSC: 24,3 million euros
- Schalke 04: 23,3 million euros
- Hamburger SV: 22,5 million euros
- FC Köln: 21,6 million euros
- Hannover 96: 20,8 million euros
Top Earner at KSC: Marvin Wanitzek, But It's Not Him
Marvin Wanitzek, a favorite among KSC fans and a star player, is not said to be the highest-paid player on the squad. Two different platforms, fussballtransfers.com and salarysport.com, provide conflicting estimates for Wanitzek's salary. According to fussballtransfers.com, he makes approximately 407,000 euros per year, or around 34,000 euros gross per month. In contrast, salarysport.com puts his salary at 476,000 euros per year. There are three KSC players who reportedly earn more.
Luca Pfeiffer is listed as the top earner. Shortly before his signing, we reported that Pfeiffer sought a monthly salary between 60,000 and 70,000 euros. According to salarysport.com, he now earns around 950,000 euros per year, equating to nearly 80,000 euros per month. The striker is the highest-paid player at Karlsruhe SC by a significant margin, with Robin Heußer and Lasse Günther earning just over 500,000 euros and slightly less than 500,000 euros per year, respectively. Wanitzek ranks fourth among KSC's highest-paid players.
Interestingly, KSC boasts some high-profile fans, including a number of former players that went by unusual nicknames.
Salaries at Karlsruhe SC: Ranking in the League Comparison
Where does Karlsruhe SC stand in the league comparison when it comes to player salaries? Recent reports suggest that Hertha BSC pays around one million euros per year to five players - Diego Demme, Michael Cuisance, Marc Oliver Kempf, Kevin Sessa, and Fabian Reese. It's likely that players in the 2nd Bundesliga will even exceed the million mark. According to salarysport.com, Marco Richter earns 1.75 million euros per year at Hamburger SV, and Jesse Ngankam at Hannover 96 is just below that figure. A KSC player is unlikely to compete in these categories.
In the 2024/25 season, Karlsruhe SC is predicted to spend around 8,930,000 euros on player salaries in the 2. Bundesliga, placing them in the lower midfield in terms of average salaries compared to other clubs. Marvin Wanitzek, a favorite among KSC fans, is not the highest-paid player at Karlsruhe SC; Luca Pfeiffer, who earns around 950,000 euros per year, is the top earner on the team.
