After Germany beat Turkey to win the Eurobasket crown on Sunday, there can be no doubt that the country is enjoying its greatest-ever era of basketball. Just two years after winning the World Championship and one year on from Germany’s women winning gold in the 3×3 at the Paris Olympics, the glory days continued as Franz Wagner, Dennis Schröder and Maodo Lo helped Germany take the EuroBasket.
While the likes of Wagner and Schröder play in the NBA, domestic basketball in Germany has gone from strength to strength in recent years. The Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) has become one of the most stable and exciting domestic leagues on the continent, and German teams are slowly establishing themselves in European competitions too.
But there are concerns that four years after the NIL (Name Image Likeness) provision was introduced in US colleges, the landscape is rapidly changing for European basketball teams.
The impact of NIL on European basketball
After a long-standing resistance to allowing student athletes to profit from their own image, the damn was broken in 2021 when NIL was introduced. The policy allows US college athletes to earn money through sponsorships, endorsements, social media without affecting their status as an amateur.
Amateurism is no longer really a concept in US college sports though, after the House vs. NCAA settlement in June of this year that allows colleges to directly pay their athletes. And the money on offer at many of the top sports colleges in the United States is, in a basketball context, akin to the salaries in the EuroLeague, the continent’s top club competition. This is changing the entire structure of basketball development across Europe and poses serious challenges for the future of German basketball.
The BBL has the 6+6 regulation, which requires at least six German players to be on the 12-man roster. Robert Wintermantel is head of sports and finance for the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). The former player was instrumental in implementing the rule and remains a staunch supporter of it even in the face of a changing landscape.
Robert Wintermantel (left) has been instrumental in creating the system in which German players have thrivedImage: G. Santemiz/Eibner/IMAGO
“Of course, some talented players are currently leaving clubs to join the NCAA. This will be a transitional phase.because many of them will come back,” Wintermantel told DW. “I am definitely in favor of leaving the 6-6 rule as it is.”
Hannes Steinbach is a great example. Just seven months after making his Bundesliga debut for the Würzburg Baskets, the 19-year-old announced he was following in the footsteps of Detlef Schrempf and opting to play for Washington University. One of the country’s most promising players will not be the face of the new Bundesliga season but rather will be honing his craft on the other side of the world.
Hannes Steinbach (right) is one of the biggest talents in German basketball but has chosen to play in the USImage: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/IMAGO
Wintermantel recognizes that talent leaving to the US presents a positive opportunity for young players to play, study and learn more of the American basketball mentality.
“I think these are all very positive things for the individual players, and as a league we should not try to put obstacles in their way,” Wintermantel said.
FIBA, basketball’s global governing body, is reportedly seeking to sit down with the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) to try to reach a deal, but whether that is possible and what this might looks like remains unclear.
“Our clubs need compensation for this training. These players have been excellently trained by the clubs, and the league has also made an important contribution to this development by introducing standards in the youth sector,” Wintermantel said. “There is so much money in the NCAA system that a solution for training compensation must now be found together with FIBA.”
Part of the issue is; where would the compensation come from? There are over 360 division one colleges playing in 31 conferences. There isn’t one governing body to negotiate directly with.
Domestic basketball in danger?
Wintermantel described the development of basketball as ‘incredible’ and said that the BBL has been growing steadily for decades. He admits that it is not ideal for the league to lose a talent like Steinbach, but that will not change the solid foundation that German basketball has built for itself.
“I believe we have a very good time ahead of us, as there are already many other exceptional talents who will follow in the footsteps of this golden generation. It is important for us that we are now a basketball nation that must be taken very seriously,” he said.
Wintermantel hopes the current boom in German basketball will lead to increased media coverage, which in turn would lead to more sponsorships – and more money. Then the BBL would be able to offer more to either keep players at home a bit longer or bring them back sooner.
“Basketball deserves it,” he said.
Edited by: Chuck Penfold
