Premiership Rugby Confirms New Wage Cap
As expected, the Premiership salary cap for next season will rise by £500,000 to £5.5m, with clubs also able to name a second ‘marquee’ player whose wages are excluded from the cap, as long as they arrive from outside the Premiership.
Premiership Rugby confirmed the new figures, which sees the current basic salary limit of £4.76m rise to £5.1m, with academy credits increasing from £240,000 to £400,000.
The changes were agreed by chairmen and shareholder groups of Premiership clubs, with the aim of increasing the number of homegrown players in the league.
Premiership Rugby’s chief executive Mark McCafferty, who will speak at the Nolan Partners Sport Industry Breakfast Club next Friday, said the move had been made possible by improved revenues.
McCafferty will be joined on stage at the networking event by the man who masterminded the rise of BT Sport, John Petter and one of the men behind organising the first Formula 1 Gran Premio de España at the Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya, Managing Director and shareholder of Dorna Sports and MotoGP, as well as Vice President of FC Barcelona, Manel Arroyo. Become a member today, here.
The news comes off the back of news that the proportion of England-qualified players in the Premiership has risen above 70% for the first time this season.
Academy credits cover players who are under the age of 24, joined the club before their 18th birthday and are earning more than £30k a year.
Under the current rules, teams could name one marquee player whose wages are not included in the wage cap, but from next year a second exclusive player can also be named, as long as they have not featured in the Premiership during the previous 12 months.
