Breaking: The 2020/21 Premiership salary cap report by numbers

Premiership Rugby’s salary cap report has confirmed that the average income of a player in the English top-flight with over 50 international caps was £325,306 in 2020/21, a remuneration that was approximately £130,000 less than the average £457,409 income of a marquee player sat outside a club’s salary cap.  

Just shy of £100m in cash was spent on senior and academy players in the 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership season, according to the 20-page salary cap report just published by Premiership Rugby. 

The figures – which included Saracens despite their demotion to the Championship – showed that £94,722,353 was the cash spent on senior players with a further outlay of £4,143,756 on academy players, down from the approximate £108m spent in 2019/20. It covered 607 senior players and 263 in academies.

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Will Skelton on Champions Cup celebrations and playing for the Barbarians | RugbyPass Offload | Episode 38

The big rig Will Skelton joins us from Monaco this week where he’s on tour with the Barbarians and rooming with George Kruis. He fills us in on the tour so far, hanging out at the palace with the Prince and who’s leading the charge off the pitch. We also hear about his man-of-the-match performance for La Rochelle in the Champions Cup Final, that famous open-top bus celebration and what it’s like playing for coaches like O’Gara and Cheika.

Having strengthened their salary cap procedures following the Lord Myners report of 2020, Premiership Rugby have now committed to annually publishing its salary cap report and they have now provided a review of the 2020/21 season.

The document doesn’t show the wage bill of specific clubs or the specific salaries of players, but it still offered a treasure trove of more general information such as which positions on the pitch earned the biggest salaries and the age bracket that was the best remunerated. 

Of the nine income bands in the report, ranging from the 17 per cent of players in the £30,000 to £50,000 bracket at the bottom of the scale to the four per cent at the top-end £400,000-plus section, 28 per cent of players who played in the Premiership last season had an income of between £50,000 and £100,000. The next biggest was the £100,000 to £150,000 band which accounted for 19 per cent of players. 

Moving on to pay by position, the highest-paid was out-half with an average income of £175,679. Centre was next best with an average of £167,779 while the highest-paid position in the forwards was lock with an average of £158,617. Hooker, with £113,115, and scrum-half, with £117,912, were the two least renumerated positions. 

Props earned an average of £140,897, but the report didn’t differentiate between loosehead and tighthead. “We deliberately kept it at props,” explained salary cap director Andrew Rogers. “We recognise there is a difference in skill set but we haven’t got the data to hand as to the differences. Historically the tightheads have always been with a bit more and those who can play both sides are obviously pretty popular too within the market.”

The report then delved into the salary bandings position by position. For instance, 43 per cent of hookers only earned between £50,000 and £100,000 whereas 13 per cent of out-halves earned £400,000-plus. 

The age banding with the highest average income was 26 to 28 with £182,532, while a clear trend of increased income for players with more Premiership appearances was also reported as players with more than 100 games earned the highest, an average of £205,000. It also stated that the average income of a player with over 50 international caps was £325,306. 

The date ended with the average income of an excluded marque player, which was £457,409. However, excluded players were not always the highest-paid players and one club didn’t even nominate any excluded marquee players for this particular salary cap year. 

It meant that the average income of the top 24 earners during the 2020/21 season was £532,894 – and ten of the 24 excluded players were not in the top 24 earners. 

2020/21 Salary Cap report takeaways

• The total number of players that contributed to club cost in the senior salary cap was 607 and 263 in the academy salary cap. These numbers included players on short-term contracts during the season and ex-players who received payments during the salary cap year. 
• The average senior player total salary was £171,187 and player income was £143,699. 
• The highest-paid position was fly-half with an average income of £175,679. The highest-paid forward was lock with an average income of £158,617.
• The lowest-paid forward was hooker with an average income of £113,115, and the lowest-paid back was scrum-half with £117,912. 
• The age band with the highest average income was 26 to 28 with an average of £182,532.
• Players who joined from abroad and had 0 Premiership appearances had an average income of £98,123 compared to £44,550 for players who did not come from abroad.
• The average income of a player with over 50 international caps was £325,306.
• The average income of an excluded marquee player sitting outside the salary cap was £457,409. However, excluded players weren’t always the highest-paid players.
• The average income of the top 24 earners during the 2020/21 season was £532,894 and ten of the 24 excluded players were not in the top 24 earners.

Click here to read the full 20-page 2020/21 Premiership Rugby salary cap report