Free practical guide
Build wealth in 12 career years — and live off it for 50 more
Professional athletes earn for 10 to 15 years what has to carry them through 50 further years of life. This guide identifies the 7 wealth traps that most often cost top athletes their career-built assets — and which structures actually protect.
Written for Bundesliga professionals, cyclists, tennis players, esports professionals and anyone who refuses to lose their short high-earning phase to structural mistakes. With worked examples from advisory practice.
What to expect
8 parts, all from advisory practice
A short preview of the guide. The full version with all structures, comparison tables and worked examples is delivered as a PDF.
End of career without a plan
Why the savings rate from the very first professional contract must structurally exceed 60 percent — and which insurances cushion the risk.
Wrong advisor or manager
Commission interests, Cum-Ex clients in the portfolio and hidden kickbacks. Three warning signs plus standard questions for every initial meeting.
Image rights without structure
An Imagerechte-GmbH (German limited-liability company holding image and personality rights) combined with a Holding (German tax-optimised holding company structure, typically with Schachtelprivileg under § 8b KStG) saves up to 25 percent tax on advertising income. Comparison table: private versus structured.
Family as asset manager
When parents or siblings manage the assets — the typical constellations in which trust eats up substance.
Residency trap on club transfer
Wegzugsbesteuerung (exit taxation under § 6 AStG when relocating abroad with substantial shareholdings), ATAD Implementation Act reform of 2022 and the habitual-residence risk. With a worked example of 540,000 EUR.
Separation without a Lex-Sportiva prenuptial agreement
Zugewinnausgleich (equalisation of accrued gains under the default German matrimonial regime) hits ruthlessly when the prenuptial agreement is missing. The three clause building blocks that matter most for athlete careers.
Hype investments and crypto calls
What player agents sell, what actually diversifies — and why the life annuity is the most boring yet most important component.
Structures that actually protect
Imagerechte-GmbH plus Holding plus Lex-Sportiva prenuptial agreement plus structured asset management. Three worked examples at 4 million EUR annual salary.
From the guide
Wegzugsbesteuerung on a club transfer
A professional player transfers to Spain on a 4 million EUR annual salary. The Imagerechte-GmbH (market value 2 million EUR) triggers a deemed disposal on departure — Wegzugsbesteuerung (exit taxation under § 6 AStG when relocating abroad with substantial shareholdings). With a 100-percent shareholding, the partial-income procedure (60 percent) and the top tax rate of 45 percent, the result is over 540,000 EUR of exit tax — payable immediately or, for relocations within the EU or EEA, in seven annual instalments.
Since the ATAD Implementation Act of 2022, the former interest-free deferral for EU and EEA relocations is no longer available. For third countries (Switzerland, USA, UAE), tax authorities additionally require security. The guide presents three structures that avoid this outcome.
Legal references: § 6 AStG, § 3 no. 40 EStG, § 32a EStG, § 9 AO
From practice
Written for professionals, managers and their families
Florian Enders is a Steuerberater (German Tax Advisor, qualified under StBerG) at tietze enders und Partner mbB in Liederbach. Focus areas: wealth building, asset protection and succession — including for the sports-adjacent client base. The guide draws on real client cases; names are anonymised.
Do you have a concrete professional contract, club transfer or structuring question? Clarify your situation in a free initial consultation: Book an appointment