REPORT: Average Pro D2 budget hits €11 million

With the Pro D2 starting this Thursday, French media outlet Midi Olympique has revealed the budgets of each one of the 16 sides competing in the 2026/2027 season.

Philippe Saint-André’s Provence, who came close to clinching promotion to the Top 14 a few months ago, boasts a €20m budget, the biggest amongst the ProD2 landscape.

The 2025/2026 runners-up have signed the likes of Canadian legend Tyler Ardron, Martín Bogado, Fijian Drua’s Etonia Waqa and former Castres’ prop Aurélien Azar in hopes of winning promotion to the Top 14 for the first time in their history.

CA Brive ranks second with a €17m budget, giving head coach Grégory Patat the resources needed to pursue the club’s dream of returning to the Top 14.

Despite remaining among the division’s biggest spenders, the club’s budget has fallen by €4m compared to last season, reflecting the departures of key figures such as Courtney Lawes, Ben Tapuai, Paul Pimienta, Erwan Dridi, Hendré Stassen, and Curwin Bosch.

Welsh internationals Sam Davies and James Fender’s FC Grenoble will tackle the season with a €13m budget, having announced several signings in the hope of bouncing back from a disappointing last season.

Newly-promoted sides, Nissa Rugby and RC Narbonne, both rank ahead of several established Pro D2 clubs in the budget standings.

Nissa sit ninth with a budget of €10.5m, while Nationale champions Narbonne enter the division with roughly €7m at their disposal, surpassing the budgets of Aurillac and Dax.

As has been the norm in recent seasons, US Dax and Stade Aurillacois have the smallest budgets in Pro D2, which has proven sufficient in the fight to avoid relegation.

In total, the combined budgets of all Pro D2 clubs amounts to €176.5 million. While this represents a decrease of around €5m from last season, the overall figure remains remarkably stable – especially given that RC Vannes, whose budget was estimated at approximately €18.7m, earned promotion to the Top 14.

However, a higher budget does not automatically mean promotion, as CA Brive has consistently had the largest budget until this year yet has failed to reach the Pro D2 final over the past three seasons.

The published budgets include not only player expenditure but also the staff and infrastructure needed to support the day-to-day operations of a professional rugby team.

Pro D2 budgets, according to Midi Olympique (change from 2025/26 in brackets):

1. Provence Rugby – €20m (+3m)
2. CA Brive – €17m (-4m)
3. FC Grenoble – €13m (unchanged)
4. Biarritz Olympique – €12.5m (+2m)
5. USO Nevers – €12.4m (-1.8m)
6. US Oyonnax – €12.2m (-0.7m)
7. US Montauban – €12m (-2m)
8. SU Agen – €11.4 (-1.3m)
9. Nissa Rugby – €10.5m (+2.5m)
10. AS Béziers-Hérault – €10 (+0.6m)
11. Valence Romans – €9.5m (+1m)
12. Soyaux-Angoulême – €9m (+1m)
13. Colomiers Rugby – €8m (-0.7m)
14. RC Narbonne – €7m (N/A)
15. US Dax – €6.5m (unchanged)
16. Stade Aurillacois – €5.5m (unchanged)