ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
REGISTER
LOGIN
ADVERTISEMENT
RugbyDump
Thursday Jun 16, 2022

Premiership Rugby Publish Salary Cap Report

Premiership Rugby has released its salary cap report and it makes for interesting reading ahead of this weekend’s premiership final between Leicester Tigers and Saracens.

ADVERTISEMENT

For their part Saracens have truly rebounded in remarkable fashion following their season in the Championship. Of course, the relegation itself was unlike other teams who have been relegated as by and large Sarries held onto their most important players.

For those unfamiliar with the situation, Saracens were fined a whopping £5.34m and docked 105 log points for repeatedly breaking the salary gap that is set in place for fair play.

The three time European and five-time premiership champions came under significant scrutiny following the revelations of their cheating with many fans calling for their titles to be stripped.

In direct response to salary cap breaches a significant inquiry was launched and was spearheaded by Lord Paul Myners. Whilst the report itself was significant offering 52 recommendations, the crux of the report as the need for more transparency around club’s wage bills.

As Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “One of the main principles set out in the Myners Report emphasised the promotion of greater transparency, to broaden and deepen visibility and scrutiny about how the salary cap operates in practice.”

Thus, this report shows the salary cap compliancy of all 13 clubs across the Premiership.

ADVERTISEMENT

Before delving too deep into the detail it is worth noting that whilst Saracens issues are well documented. The Tigers too have found themselves on the wrong side of the side of the salary cap as they copped a £310,000 fine as recently as March this year for repeated salary cap infringements over the previous four seasons.

The report itself is as a thorough as one would expect following the scrutiny put on the administrators following the Saracens revelations.

Starting with a breakdown of why the salary cap is in place and shows an interesting breakdown into how the cap itself works.

The following graphs gives a real insight into how teams can manage their cap efficiently. As you can see the Premiership are pushing clubs towards using their home-grown talent rather than simply importing foreign stars.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

In total the 13 clubs spent a total £94,772,353 on their senior squads for an average of £7,290,181 per club. Given that the salary cap itself was £6.4m in that period, it shows just how crucial the homegrown player allowance is for clubs to have sufficient depth.

Interestingly the breakdown in average salary per position shows a substantial difference between the top paid group (Flyhalfs) and the lowest paid group (Hookers).

Whilst there is little surprise in the flyhalf position commanding the most money based on the premium placed on the position, the fact that the hookers appear to be significantly undervalued is interesting.

Taking into account the physical demands of the position and the scrutiny placed on set piece, one could be forgiven for assuming the position would command a higher premium.

In a similar vein the scrumhalf is the lowest paid position of the backline players, this could in part be reflected in the current English international set-up where Eddie Jones has remained true to Ben Youngs throughout his tenure.

As such whilst there are certainly quality English scrumhalves coming through, off hand it would appear as though they have yet to match the heights achieved of players such as Ireland’s Conor Murray who currently commands a £470,000 per year salary at Irish giants Munster.

For their part the Locks are currently the highest paid forwards with an average salary of £158,617. This figure however could be skewed based on players such as Maro Itoje who has a reported annual salary of £800,000 and Wasps Joe Launchbury who is reported to bring in north of £400,000pa.

Whilst the top end of any league or sport will command a hefty price tag, the question of the average player salary is an interesting one. On one hand the clubs must remain sustainable whilst on the other hand the physicality involved in the sport more often than not leads to a relatively short career as well as the obvious toll it takes on the body long term.

For the full report you can find it here. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section, are Premiership players by and large underpaid?

Comments




Related Articles

  • 93 WEEKS AGO

    Freddie Burns Late Night Celebrations

  • 93 WEEKS AGO

    Steve Borthwick reaction premiership win

  • 93 WEEKS AGO

    Wasps Apply For Public Funding



ADVERTISEMENT

Great Tries

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    The dummy that sold the whole of Perth - including the cameraman

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Bayonne score 'one of the best tries you'll ever see' in latest match against Exeter

  • 10 WEEKS AGO

    Baloucoune shows Andy Farrell what he's missing as the winger tears through Harlequins defence

  • 22 WEEKS AGO

    Seriously impressive Courtney Lawes compilation released after England player calls time on international career

  • 24 WEEKS AGO

    Fiji number eight Viliame 'Bill' Mata scores audacious try

View All

Big Hits & Dirty Play

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    The sending off that rocked the Six Nations opener

  • 8 WEEKS AGO

    Wrecking ball beats 10 players to score full length of the pitch try

  • 18 WEEKS AGO

    Streaker causes major bust up as he tackles player

  • 18 WEEKS AGO

    Monster hit from Perrin leaves Bristol Bears player stunned

  • 20 WEEKS AGO

    Posolo Tuilagi's massive tackle lights up Top 14

View All

See It To Believe It

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Christian Wade proves he still has the X-factor with 50 metre mazy finish for Racing 92

  • 3 DAYS AGO

    Magical sevens try leaves defender stuck in the mud

  • 6 DAYS AGO

    The fan reaction to Georgia calling out Wales this Autumn

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    England player ratings: England wake Twickenham up with huge victory

  • 3 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible scenes as Italy shock Scotland in Rome

View All

Funnies

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Awesome scenes as Blitzbok fan throws down at the HSBC SVNS

  • 5 WEEKS AGO

    Mike Philips recounts crazy night Shane Williams tried to fight Warren Gatland

  • 9 WEEKS AGO

    Shaun Edwards leaves room silent in new Six Nations documentary with French to English transition

  • 18 WEEKS AGO

    Streaker causes major bust up as he tackles player

  • 22 WEEKS AGO

    Luke Cowan-Dickie left red faced after losing very costly bet

View All

Amateur

  • 63 WEEKS AGO

    You Won’t See Many Better Than This Silky-Smooth Try From Llandovery RFC

  • 63 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes As Caldy RFC Hand Ealing First Championship Defeat Of The Season

  • 86 WEEKS AGO

    Dubious Score Decides Result Of Rugby's Biggest Schools Fixture

  • 86 WEEKS AGO

    Incredible Scenes At School Boys Rugby Match

  • 87 WEEKS AGO

    The Next Dominant Backrow?

View All

Player Features

  • 8 HOURS AGO

    Danny Care to return to Twickenham for Barbarians match this summer

  • 1 DAY AGO

    Northampton Saints brothers retire a day apart

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Christian Wade proves he still has the X-factor with 50 metre mazy finish for Racing 92

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Tributes paid as World Cup referee looks to hang up boots

  • 2 DAYS AGO

    Statement: Danny Care calls time on international career

View All