Welsh rugby introduces salary cap at regions

[TRF_Cymro]

Wales' four regions have announced a salary cap amid fears of a mass player exodus to France.

Each of the four teams will spend a maximum of £3.5m on Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup squad members.​

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/16267538.stm
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[Feicarsinn]

Eh? How will that help keep players in Wales. £0.5m less than their premiership counterparts anyways.

 

[Teh Mite]

Only says for HEC players on the details. I'd guess at an interpritation that means the regular Magners players don't get included as it's only the HEC squad.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Yeah, it does seem counter-intuitive to introduce a salary cap because of players leaving for bigger salaries in France
However it will stop the richer clubs buying expensive players while the poorer clubs can't keep up


How many players are named in the ERC squads, is it thirty? £116k per player if it's split equally

 

[psychic duck]

Yeah, it does seem counter-intuitive to introduce a salary cap because of players leaving for bigger salaries in France
However it will stop the richer clubs buying expensive players while the poorer clubs can't keep up


How many players are named in the ERC squads, is it thirty? £116k per player if it's split equally

38 players allowed

 

[Teh Mite]

Yeah, it does seem counter-intuitive to introduce a salary cap because of players leaving for bigger salaries in France
However it will stop the richer clubs buying expensive players while the poorer clubs can't keep up


How many players are named in the ERC squads, is it thirty? £116k per player if it's split equally

It wouldn't be though. Top players would be on £200k-ish while juniors would be on closer to £20k.

Plus the Principality Premiership wages on top.

 

[Draggs]

Central contracts are a more effective way of keeping players in Wales, I have no clue why the WRU ignore this matter.
We already had no chance of competing with the Top14 with their budgets, this will further put us behind.

 

[formerlyfastwing]

It wouldn't be though. Top players would be on £200k-ish while juniors would be on closer to £20k.

Plus the Principality Premiership wages on top.

Wow, TBH, I had no idea the contracts were so small in rugby.

 

[LittleGuy]

Wow, TBH, I had no idea the contracts were so small in rugby.

The French Top 14 cap is nearly twice as high, and the Aviva Premiership is a little larger as well, Super Rugby many of the players are under central contracts, so they can be better paid if they are internationals etc.

Edit: Still in comparison to top flight soccer and the Big Four leagues in North America, rugby dosen't have the same massive salaries, I think the CFL here in Canada is actually a close comparison in terms of compensation FFW.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Aviva salary cap is actually smaller - per player

It's just over 4mil but is over the entire squad, not the just the ERC registered players, so will work out less per player than the 3.5mil between 38

 

[Teh Mite]

The French Top 14 cap is nearly twice as high, and the Aviva Premiership is a little larger as well, Super Rugby many of the players are under central contracts, so they can be better paid if they are internationals etc.

The French cap isn't a set figure, it's actually based on the sustainability of the clubs so directly relates to the individual club turnover as a percentage.

As to the comparison of wages between France and the Celtic regions, how do you think Munster, Ospreys and now Leinster have ended up with teams full of Glaacticos down the years and kept them? It wasn't Academy development.

 

[Seaton]

But in France isn't there a ig emphasis on things like 'image rights' and such when the players sign contracts, to work around the salary caps?

 

[Teh Mite]

If a players's big enough (e.g. Wilkinson) they#ll have the likes of Adidas crawling all over them regardless of where they're plying their trade.

 

[Seaton]

Aye, but I refer specifically to the French clubs paying the players "on the side"/ with a seperate contract so that they can use his face on their website, match day programmes, etc...

 

[LittleGuy]

The French cap isn't a set figure, it's actually based on the sustainability of the clubs so directly relates to the individual club turnover as a percentage.

As to the comparison of wages between France and the Celtic regions, how do you think Munster, Ospreys and now Leinster have ended up with teams full of Glaacticos down the years and kept them? It wasn't Academy development.

The provisional French cap for this season was 8.7 million euros. But as you say Teh Mite it isn't a hard figure.

Some North American leagues have a similar arrangement where players pay into an escrow fund and league revenues are taken into account for final salaries, the NHL operates in this fashion, and I think the NBA and NFL also tie the salaries(and caps) to an extant to revenues.

Edit: Thanks for the clarification on the Aviva Olly, I hadn't taken into account that some of the players further down in the depth chart obviously would not be included in the ERC rosters.