'Real step forward': Premiership publishes 20/21 salary cap report
New Premiership Rugby CEO Simon Massie-Taylor has insisted that the strengthened salary cap is fit for purpose now that the league’s salary cap department has stronger investigatory powers in place to monitor the financial accounting of its clubs who face stronger deterrents than before if they break the rules.
Established in 1999, the salary cap framework underwent crucial changes followed the caustic fallout after defending Premiership champions Saracens were automatically relegated to the Championship for repeated breaches of the salary cap.
A 2020 report written by Lord Paul Myners, the late former cabinet minister, and commissioned by Premiership Rugby emphasised the need for greater transparency about how the salary cap operated and officials have now published the salary cap report into the 2020/21 season, the first since the powers of investigation and the list of punishments were strengthened.
This public publication of the annual salary cap report is a first for the tournament and its officials intend to make it an annual event in an effort to enhance the league’s credibility. The findings don’t reveal the wage bills of specific clubs or the salaries of specific players, instead offering an overview of general player wages across the Premiership.
A total of £94,722,353 was collectively spent by the 13 clubs in the senior salary cap for 2020/21 (Saracens were included despite playing in the Championship) while £4,143,756 was spent under the collective academy salary cap.
“The salary cap is continuously kept under review to ensure it is fit for purpose and it is proportionate and meets its legitimate objectives and that is something we do on an ongoing basis… we do our best to ensure that it is legally supported,” explained Massie-Taylor, who became Premiership Rugby CEO in October 2021.
“The key element was actually the recommendations around ensuring there are appropriate sanctions in place to deal with any transgressions, so we have got really strong investigatory powers now in place to monitor things but equally the deterrent is there to ensure that if someone does transgress the powers are there. They can have trophies stripped, there is relegation. There are some serious, serious sanctions that deal with any serious transgression.
“The salary cap is hugely important because the league’s USP is its competitiveness and the salary cap is a brilliant mechanism in order to try and preserve competitiveness and you want to make sure that mechanism is as effective as possible.
“I do think these new powers that came through the review are really important. For example, the finalists being subject to an extended audit is an effective tool to answer lingering questions. It is things like that are important to build credibility with the fans.
“The main point we are trying to get across with the report is transparency, that we are here to share the data and make it open to the public. I’m sure fans will be interested in the relative (salary) value of the different positions and also some of the data around the different stages of careers. There is lots of information here and some natural questions that will come out of it.”
Salary cap director Andrew Rogers is tasked with ensuring everything runs smoothly and that clubs stay within the regulations. “The role is to make sure everyone is confident in the system that we have in place and the team here are doing the best job possible and believes and trusts in the system,” he said.
“I can’t give any club a clean bill of health because there is a window we always work but what I can say, particularly now with the new system, is all the clubs have been very open and transparent with me in managing their squads each season and that has been really positive.
“When Lord Myners did his review he looked at all the other sporting systems that had investigatory and enforcement powers and effective sanctioning and we made sure this competition would have the very best to ensure we can do as much as we can.
“We are obviously not law enforcement but we are able to access a lot and the ability to look at tax returns and bank statements and also mobile phone devices and emails is a real step forward.”
The additional workload, which now includes an extra forensic audit of whichever team is crowned the champions at the end of a season, has seen Rogers given more staff. “There are three of us now, it was one. I’m very pleased I have got two extra people now helping me. It makes a big difference.
“With the annual audit we do at least three players at each club for their tax returns and then for the extended audit, the champions, we do half of their playing squad, we look at tax returns and bank statements over a period of time. It is more extensive.
“We have just completed that with Harlequins for last year so that covers a real detailed forensic assessment that goes into club officials’ emails and phone messages as well as player bank statements, tax returns for over half the squad so it is a very detailed piece of work that we now have undertaken this year and will continue to do so going forward.”
It was earlier this year when the salary cap made headlines with an investigation into Leicester over third-party payments to the image rights companies of players from 2016/17 to 2020/21. The Tigers were ordered to pay £309,841.06 in fines and taxes.
“We are always looking at things,” continued Rogers. “That case, in particular, was a quick process due to the co-operation from the club. That leak in December through to its conclusion in March was quick in terms of sporting investigations and conclusion of things.”
- Click here to read the full 20-page 2020/21 Premiership Rugby salary cap report
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments