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2. BUNDESLIGA · DEFENDERS · 2026/27

Highest paid 2. Bundesliga defenders

Yannick Gerhardt is the best-paid defender in the 2. Bundesliga, on £42,000 a week at VfL Wolfsburg, or £2,184,000 a year. Joakim Mæhle is next on £37,000 at VfL Wolfsburg. We hold wages for 197 2. Bundesliga defenders in 2026/27.

BEST PAID £42k
AVERAGE WAGE £8,296
SHARE OF WAGE BILL32%
TOP 10 A WEEK £288k
WAGES HELD197

The 50 best-paid 2. Bundesliga defenders

Weekly wage, 2026/27. A player who plays in two areas of the pitch is on both lists, at the full wage.

The best-paid defenders in the 2. Bundesliga in 2026/27, ranked by weekly wage, with the yearly wage, club, age, position and nationality.
# PLAYER WEEKLY YEARLY CLUB AGE POSITION NATION
1 Yannick Gerhardt £42,000£42k £2,184,000£2.2m VfL Wolfsburg 31 Left-back, defensive midfielder Germany
2 Joakim Mæhle £37,000£37k £1,924,000£1.9m VfL Wolfsburg 28 Full-back Denmark
3 Moritz Jenz £32,000£32k £1,664,000£1.7m VfL Wolfsburg 26 Centre-back Germany
4 Rogério £31,000£31k £1,612,000£1.6m VfL Wolfsburg 27 Left-back, left midfielder Brazil
5 Aaron Zehnter £28,000£28k £1,456,000£1.5m VfL Wolfsburg 20 Left-back Germany
6 Jonas Adjetey £25,000£25k £1,300,000£1.3m VfL Wolfsburg 21 Centre-back Ghana
7 Patrick Mainka £24,000£24k £1,248,000£1.2m 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 30 Centre-back Germany
8 Nicolas Cozza £24,000£24k £1,248,000£1.2m VfL Wolfsburg 26 Centre-back France
9 Saël Kumbedi £23,000£23k £1,196,000£1.2m VfL Wolfsburg 20 Right-back France
10 Eric Smith £22,000£22k £1,144,000£1.1m FC St. Pauli 28 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Sweden
11 Hauke Wahl £21,000£21k £1,092,000£1.1m VfL Wolfsburg 31 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
12 Mika Faye £20,000£20k £1,040,000£1.0m 1. FC Nürnberg 20 Centre-back Senegal
13 Márton Dárdai £19,000£19k £988,000£988k Hertha BSC 23 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Hungary
14 Maximilian Bauer £16,000£16k £832,000£832k DSC Arminia Bielefeld 25 Centre-back Germany
15 Dominique Heintz £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 31 Centre-back Germany
16 Mads Pedersen £16,000£16k £832,000£832k Hertha BSC 28 Left-back Denmark
17 Cleiton £16,000£16k £832,000£832k VfL Wolfsburg 22 Centre-back Brazil
18 Boris Tomiak £15,000£15k £780,000£780k Hannover 96 26 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
19 Hendry Blank £15,000£15k £780,000£780k SpVgg Greuther Fürth 20 Centre-back Germany
20 David Nemeth £14,000£14k £728,000£728k FC St. Pauli 24 Centre-back Austria
21 Deyovaisio Zeefuik £14,000£14k £728,000£728k Hertha BSC 27 Full-back Netherlands
22 Kilian Fischer £14,000£14k £728,000£728k VfL Wolfsburg 24 Full-back Germany
23 Leart Paqarada £13,000£13k £676,000£676k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 30 Left-back Kosovo
24 Louis Oppie £13,000£13k £676,000£676k FC St. Pauli 23 Left-back Germany
25 Adam Dźwigała £13,000£13k £676,000£676k FC St. Pauli 29 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Poland
26 Aleksandar Vukotić £13,000£13k £676,000£676k SV Darmstadt 98 29 Centre-back Serbia
27 Karol Mets £13,000£13k £676,000£676k VfL Bochum 1848 32 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Estonia
28 Marnon Busch £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 30 Centre-back Germany
29 Jonas Föhrenbach £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 29 Centre-back Germany
30 Julian Niehues £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 24 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
31 Erik Ahlstrand £12,000£12k £624,000£624k FC St. Pauli 23 Left wing-back, attacking midfielder Sweden
32 Jacob Rasmussen £12,000£12k £624,000£624k 1. FC Kaiserslautern 28 Centre-back Denmark
33 Noah Weißhaupt £12,000£12k £624,000£624k SV Darmstadt 98 23 Left wing-back, winger Germany
34 Henri Koudossou £11,000£11k £572,000£572k DSC Arminia Bielefeld 25 Full-back, right midfielder Germany
35 Noah Katterbach £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Eintracht Braunschweig 24 Left-back Germany
36 Matthias Zimmermann £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 33 Right-back, defensive midfielder Germany
37 Maurice Neubauer £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Hannover 96 29 Full-back Germany
38 Linus Gechter £11,000£11k £572,000£572k Hertha BSC 21 Centre-back Germany
39 Tim Siersleben £10,000£10k £520,000£520k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 25 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
40 Tomoya Ando £10,000£10k £520,000£520k FC St. Pauli 26 Centre-back Japan
41 Luca Itter £10,000£10k £520,000£520k SpVgg Greuther Fürth 26 Centre-back Germany
42 Emmanuel Iyoha £9,300£9k £483,600£484k 1. FC Magdeburg 27 Full-back, winger Germany
43 Lars Ritzka £9,000£9k £468,000£468k FC St. Pauli 27 Centre-back Germany
44 Sebastian Schonlau £9,000£9k £468,000£468k Holstein Kiel 30 Centre-back, defensive midfielder Germany
45 Patric Pfeiffer £9,000£9k £468,000£468k SV Darmstadt 98 25 Centre-back Ghana
46 Mathys Angely £9,000£9k £468,000£468k VfL Wolfsburg 18 Centre-back, defensive midfielder France
47 Maximilian Wittek £8,900£9k £462,800£463k VfL Bochum 1848 29 Left-back, left midfielder Germany
48 Christopher Lenz £8,400£8k £436,800£437k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 30 Centre-back Germany
49 Fabian Nürnberger £8,300£8k £431,600£432k SV Darmstadt 98 25 Left-back, defensive midfielder Bulgaria
50 Jonas Sterner £8,100£8k £421,200£421k Dynamo Dresden 23 Right-back, central midfielder Germany

What each position earns in the 2. Bundesliga

Average weekly wage of the players aged 22 or over we hold a wage for

Goalkeepers £4,703 Defenders £8,296 Midfielders £11k Attackers £9,170

Defenders take 32% of what the 2. Bundesliga pays its players of that age. The four shares add up to the whole bill, because a player who plays in two areas gives half the wage to each.

The clubs that pay their defenders the most

Every defender wage we hold at each 2. Bundesliga club, added together, a week

VfL Wolfsburg £310k FC St. Pauli £109k SV Darmstadt 98 £94k 1. FC Heidenheim 1846 £88k Hertha BSC £81k Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 £73k DSC Arminia Bielefeld £71k 1. FC Kaiserslautern £70k Holstein Kiel £59k Dynamo Dresden £59k

VfL Wolfsburg pay 13 defenders £309,500 a week between them, and Yannick Gerhardt takes 14% of it.

The best-paid defender at every 2. Bundesliga club

19 clubs, 2026/27, with where each ranks among the league's defenders

Each 2. Bundesliga club's best-paid defender in 2026/27, the weekly wage, and that player's rank among every defender in the league.
CLUB PLAYER WEEKLY RANK
VfL Wolfsburg Yannick Gerhardt £42,000£42k 1
1. FC Heidenheim 1846 Patrick Mainka £24,000£24k 7
FC St. Pauli Eric Smith £22,000£22k 10
1. FC Nürnberg Mika Faye £20,000£20k 12
Hertha BSC Márton Dárdai £19,000£19k 13
Fortuna Düsseldorf 1895 Dominique Heintz £16,000£16k 15
DSC Arminia Bielefeld Maximilian Bauer £16,000£16k 14
SpVgg Greuther Fürth Hendry Blank £15,000£15k 19
Hannover 96 Boris Tomiak £15,000£15k 18
SV Darmstadt 98 Aleksandar Vukotić £13,000£13k 26
VfL Bochum 1848 Karol Mets £13,000£13k 27
1. FC Kaiserslautern Jacob Rasmussen £12,000£12k 32
Eintracht Braunschweig Noah Katterbach £11,000£11k 35
1. FC Magdeburg Emmanuel Iyoha £9,300£9k 42
Holstein Kiel Sebastian Schonlau £9,000£9k 44
Dynamo Dresden Jonas Sterner £8,100£8k 50
Karlsruher SC Marcel Franke £6,900£7k 81
VfL Osnabrück Jonathan Gómez £6,100£6k 93
FC Energie Cottbus Christian Kinsombi £5,400£5k 107

The best-paid defender in every men's league

43 leagues, ordered by their best-paid defender. The 2. Bundesliga ranks 19th.

The best-paid defender in each men's league we rank defenders in, the weekly wage, and the league's average defender wage over players aged 22 or over.
LEAGUE BEST PAID WEEKLY AVERAGE
Saudi Pro League Kalidou Koulibaly £497,000£497k £40,351£40k
Premier League Virgil van Dijk £350,000£350k £69,840£70k
Bundesliga Dayot Upamecano £331,000£331k £42,331£42k
Ligue 1 Lucas Hernández £316,000£316k £27,702£28k
La Liga João Cancelo £249,000£249k £37,418£37k
Serie A John Stones £200,000£200k £36,415£36k
Süper Lig Milan Škriniar £166,000£166k £15,078£15k
Superleague Greece Stefan de Vrij £117,000£117k £10,420£10k
Championship Kieran Trippier £115,000£115k £18,082£18k
Eredivisie Lutsharel Geertruida £99,000£99k £8,088£8k
Major League Soccer Jordi Alba £85,000£85k £7,805£8k
Scottish Premiership Ben Godfrey £80,000£80k £5,860£6k
Primeira Liga Jakub Kiwior £58,000£58k £5,910£6k
La Liga 2 David López £58,000£58k £4,473£4k
Russian Premier League Matheus Reis £57,000£57k £12,772£13k
Brasileirão Série A Guillermo Maripán £53,000£53k £8,284£8k
Belgian Pro League Matteo Dams £49,000£49k £5,133£5k
League One Wes Morgan £46,000£46k £5,700£6k
2. Bundesliga Yannick Gerhardt £42,000£42k £8,296£8k
Super Liga Nicolás Otamendi £41,000£41k £3,253£3k
Danish Superliga Rasmus Kristensen £39,000£39k £5,418£5k
Ekstraklasa Attila Szalai £36,000£36k £2,883£3k
Serie B Federico Baschirotto £33,000£33k £6,876£7k
Czech First League David Jurásek £29,000£29k £1,857£2k
Chinese Super League Matheus Jussa (Matheus Isaias dos Santos) £27,000£27k £4,788£5k
Liga MX Kenedy £25,000£25k £6,926£7k
Austrian Bundesliga Stefan Lainer £21,000£21k £4,095£4k
Ligue 2 Frédéric Guilbert £18,000£18k £4,556£5k
J1 League Gotoku Sakai £15,000£15k £3,457£3k
Croatian First League Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel £15,000£15k £2,078£2k
Thai League Erik Sviatchenko £14,000£14k £2,172£2k
Eliteserien Hrannar Snær Magnússon £13,000£13k £1,630£2k
Belgian Challenger Pro League Thomas Foket £8,600£9k £1,529£2k
League Two Alfie Dorrington £8,500£9k £2,352£2k
Categoría Primera A Frank Fabra £8,300£8k £3,994£4k
Scottish Championship Leon King £8,000£8k £952£952
A-League Jacob Farrell £6,100£6k £1,262£1k
Indian Super League Anwar Ali £4,500£5k £595£595
National League Jake Rooney £4,100£4k £1,165£1k
I-League Jamie McCart £4,100£4k £547£547
Veikkausliiga Alfie Cicale £2,500£3k £646£646
Canadian Premier League Curtis Ofori £1,400£1k £443£443
Meistriliiga Modou Tambedou £484£484 £152£152

Frequently asked questions

Who is the highest paid defender in the 2. Bundesliga?

Yannick Gerhardt of VfL Wolfsburg, on £42,000 a week in 2026/27, or £2,184,000 a year. Joakim Mæhle of VfL Wolfsburg is second on £37,000 a week.

How much do 2. Bundesliga defenders earn?

The average 2. Bundesliga defender aged 22 or over earns £8,296 a week, and the median one £6,900. Defenders take 32% of what the 2. Bundesliga pays its players of that age.

Which 2. Bundesliga club pays its defenders the most?

VfL Wolfsburg, £309,500 a week across the 13 defenders we hold a wage for, led by Yannick Gerhardt on £42,000.

Who is the highest paid defender in football?

Of the 43 men's leagues we rank defenders in, the best-paid is Kalidou Koulibaly of Al-Hilal Saudi Football Club in the Saudi Pro League, on £497,000 a week. The best-paid in the 2. Bundesliga ranks 19th of the 43 leagues on that measure.

Where to next

The same 2. Bundesliga squads, cut a different way

See the highest paid 2. Bundesliga players in every position, the best-paid player at every club, what 2. Bundesliga players are paid at every age, or the 2. Bundesliga wage bill, club by club.