Have you ever wondered how much professional volleyball players can earn in one season? One interesting thing about volleyball players’ salaries is that it’s one of the only sports in which the top-earning women are paid more money than the top-earning men are!!
Conversely, in a sport like professional basketball, the least an NBA player can be paid is over USD$800 000, while the maximum a WNBA player can be paid is around $100 000. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry just signed a new contract that pays him $40 million per year!!
The highest paid volleyball players of course still cannot earns anything near that amount of money, but the top earning male players are still making around three times as much as an annual doctor’s salary, and that is before you account for endorsements, prizes, and other benefits that come with being a professional athlete. According to Siol, Here are the top 10 highest paid professional male volleyball players in the world make in one year.
Top 10 Highest Paid Male Volleyball Players in the World:
No.1-Wilfredo Leon (CUB), Club: Zenit Kazan, Russia– $ 1 400 000
The highest paid player on this list is Wilfredo Leon, who makes nearly one and a half million dollars per year. For reference, that’s still only about as much as a guy who barely gets off the bench in the NBA, or someone who’s sole job in the NHL is to get in fights, but still, it’s pretty impressive. The Cuban player now has Polish citizenship and is still pending approval of FIVB for changing his sport nationality to Polish. He helped Zenit Kazan to crowned the champion title of CEV Champions League in 2015, 2016 and 2017.
No.2-Earvin N’Gapeth (FRA), Club: Modena, Italy– $1 350 000
2017 FIVB World League MVP, France player Earvin N’Gapeth is the second highest paid male player with Italy club Modena. His father, Eric, is from Cameroon and was also a professional volleyball player back in the 1980s.
No.3-Bartosz Kurek (POL), Club: Ziraat Bankasi, Turkey– $1 100 000
The twenty eight year old Polish volleyball player was two times Olympian (2012 and 2016) and has won numerous individual awards and championship, this year he will stays with the Turkish club Ziraat Bankasi.
No.4-Robertlandy Simón (CUB), Club:Sada Cruzeiro, Brazil– $967 000
Cuban player Robertlandy Simón is another tallest player on this list, with a height of 2.08m and incredible jump height, he is always on the list of best blocker in variety of international tournaments.
No.5-Dmitriy Muserskiy (RUS), Club: Belogorie Belgorod, Russia– $950 000
The Russian giant, gold medalist of London Olympic 2012, impressed the whole world in the final match against Brazil, not only with his powerful spike and killing blocks, but also his ability to be playing both as a middle blocker and opposite spiker!! This season, Muserskiy takes a break in national team and he will stay in Belogorie Belgorod.
No.6- Aleksandar Atanasijevic (SRB), Club: Perugia, Italy– $920 000
Serbian opposite spiker Aleksandar Atanasijevic played many clubs in the Serbian, Italian, and Polish leagues, and participated in the Olympic games in 2012. He is considered to be one of the world’s finest spikers, and is one of the youngest players on this list of high-earners, only 25 years of age.
No.7- György Grozer (GER), Club: Lokomotiv Novosibirsk, Russia– $870 000
Germany player György Grozer has been a member of many successful teams but so far is yet to win an Olympic medal. His father was also a volleyball player, as well as a volleyball coach. He is known as a dynamic and powerful hitter, and he set a record for individual points during the Olympic games in 2012.
No.8-Matt Anderson (USA), Club: Zenit Kazan, Russia – $850 000
American player Matthew John Anderson plays for Zenit Kazan since 2012 and this is his fifth year with the team. He helped the team to won the Gold of CEV Champions League third year in a row and bagged 5 gold medals of Russian Champions since 2012.
No.9- Maxim Mikhaylov (RUS), Club: Zenit Kazan, Russia – $714 000
The gold medalist, best striker and the best scorer of 2012 London Olympic, stays in Zenit Kazan for another season.
No.10- Ivan Zaytsev (ITA), Club: Perugia, Italy– $620 000
The Italian-Russian player Ivan Zaytsev is the Olympic bronze and silver medalist, begins his career as a setter and then transit to an outside hitter with great success. His father is former national team player of USSR. Last season Zaytsev played for Dinamo Moscow, Russia.
Five players from the top 10 are currently playing in the Russian Superleague and three of them are from Zenit Kazan. Maybe that’s why Zenit Kazan dominant in the European as well as the world club championship in recent years.
