Germany Offers €350K Player Bonuses as Incentive to Defend World Cup Title

The German federation is sweetening the pot for its players if they can defend their World Cup title.

Germany's international players will receive €350,000 each if they successfully defend their 2014 World Cup title in Russia next summer, according to the German Football Association (DFB).

Joachim Low's outfit begin their 2018 defense against Mexico on June 17th in Moscow having also drawn South Korea and Sweden in Group F.

"For our players, it is a great motivation to become world champions back-to-back for the first time in the history of German football," claims DFB president, Reinhard Grindel.

"That would be a title for the eternity and certainly worth a special bonus. But you can feel in this team, that the sporting challenge is the main focus and not the economic aspect."

Germany have set the bar high with previous international tournaments and as a result there will be no prize money from the German FA until the team reaches the quarterfinals; where each player would get €75,000.

The prize rises to €125,000 for the semifinals, €150,000 for third place and €200,000 if they finish runners up on July 15th at the Moscow Luzhniki Stadium.

Former international forward Oliver Bierhoff claims the performance-based scheme "brings the necessary calm and clarity early on," and allows the players to "focus on the task before and during the competition."