Premiership Rugby Salary Cap Report 2020-21

SALARY CAP REPORT
2020-21
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 1

CONTENTS
03 INTRODUCTION
04 HISTORY OF THE PREMIERSHIP RUGBY
SALARY CAP
05 SALARY CAP BACKGROUND
06 OPERATION & MANAGEMENT
OF THE SALARY CAP
09 PLAYERS USED AND SQUAD SIZES
10 PLAYER SALARY INSIGHTS
18 EXCLUDED PLAYERS
19 GLOSSARY
2 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

INTRODUCTION
The Salary Cap continues to be a crucial part of Premiership Rugby’s
strategic framework and is supported unanimously by all 13 Premiership
Rugby Clubs.
Established in 1999, the Salary Cap framework is under constant review but in
2020 it underwent some crucial changes inspired by a report written by former
cabinet minister Lord Paul Myners and commissioned by Premiership Rugby.
One of the main principles set out in the Myners Report emphasised the promotion
of greater transparency, to broaden and deepen visibility and scrutiny about how
the Salary Cap operates in practice. This report, which covers the season 2020-21
is borne from his recommendations and will become an annual publication.
It was very sad to hear of the passing of Lord Myners earlier this year. Premiership
Rugby is extremely grateful for the huge amount of time and commitment he put
into the review. We believe that through his report and recommendations he has
helped us continue to operate a world-leading system.
This Report provides information about the operation and management of
Premiership Rugby’s Salary Cap in respect of the 2020-21 Salary Cap Year.
If you have any questions or would like further details please contact the media
team at Premiership Rugby via communications@premiershiprugby.com
Simon Massie-Taylor
Chief Executive Officer, Premiership Rugby
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 3

HISTORY OF THE PREMIERSHIP
RUGBY SALARY CAP
As a collective, Premiership Rugby and its Clubs led the way in England
when they introduced a Salary Cap in 1999 with the aim of achieving the
following objectives in a proportionate manner:
• ensuring the financial viability of all Clubs and of the Gallagher Premiership
Rugby competition;
• controlling inflationary pressures on Clubs’ costs;
• providing a level playing field for Clubs;
• ensuring a competitive Gallagher Premiership competition; and
• enabling Clubs to compete in European competitions.
The Salary Cap has been kept under continuous review each year but in 2019 the
Salary Cap was subject to a challenge on competition law grounds to the validity
of the Regulations. The Independent Panel, chaired by Lord Dyson, rejected the
challenge and in setting out its conclusions, the Panel noted that the Salary Cap
operates in a pro-competitive manner by promoting the system’s objectives.
The fact that the Salary Cap was kept under continuous review by Premiership
Rugby and the Clubs was a notable factor in the successful competition law
defence.
This decision and the Panel’s strong endorsement for the Salary Cap, presented the
perfect springboard to undertake an extensive review of the Salary Regulations.
As stated above Lord Myners led a comprehensive review of the Salary Cap,
which was published in May 2020 and had the purpose of further strengthening
the Regulations to ensure they provide a world-leading system with extensive
investigatory powers and appropriately robust sanctions. Lord Myners’ review
included a public consultation and meetings with every Premiership Club, the RPA
and the RFU.
His report made a number of recommendations which have been incorporated into
the new system which started during the 2020-21 Salary Cap Year.
4 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

SALARY CAP BACKGROUND
The Salary Cap is a Premiership Rugby rule that places a limit on the amount
of money a Club can spend on Player salaries. The restriction is on the total
squad spend, not on individual salaries. The level of the cap is determined by the
Premiership Rugby Clubs and for the 2020-21 season was set at £6,400,000 for
senior squads. A number of relief mechanisms are available to Clubs including
credits, injury dispensations and other allowances that are excluded from the
Salary Cap.
EXCLUDED
PLAYER
1
EDUCATION
ALLOWANCE
(unlimited)
INJURED
PLAYER
CREDIT
(£400,000)
£6.4M
SALARY
CAP
INTERNATIONAL
PLAYER CREDITS
(up to £80,000
per Player)
EXCLUDED
PLAYER
2
HOME
GROWN PLAYER
CREDITS
(£50,000 x 12)
The Clubs are actively involved in the development of the Salary Cap. The level
of the Salary Cap and the Regulations that support it are set by the PRL Investor
Board (all 13 Clubs). To make any change at least 10 of the 13 Clubs need to
support any proposal. In the last few seasons, these have been unanimous across
the Clubs. There is also a Salary Cap Sub-Committee that includes representatives
from five Clubs, as well as the Salary Cap Director and the Rugby Director, who
review the Regulations and make recommendations to the Investor Board for
consideration.
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 5

OPERATION & MANAGEMENT
OF THE SALARY CAP
The new system has expanded the scope of the Regulations to ensure all
“Participants” have a shared responsibility to support in the compliance
of the Salary Cap. These now cover, not only the Club itself, but also, its
shareholders, directors, employees and Players, as well as Agents. All of
these people must comply with the Regulations and actively support in a
number of areas.
“Each Participant agrees to act honestly, with integrity and in
accordance with the spirit of the Regulations”
There is also a strict obligation on all Participants to:
• Fully co-operating with the Salary Cap Director
• Provide true and accurate information to the Salary Cap Director
• Not assist or take part in any attempt to breach or get around the
Regulations
• Report any breaches
Failure to Co-operate is now a serious offence under the Regulations.
In addition to the ongoing day-to-day management of the Salary Cap there are
some key requirements that take place at specific times. These are:
• Club Annual Declarations (30 June) – detailed forecast for the
year signed off by the Chair, CEO, FD and Director of Rugby.
• Club Annual Certifications (30 September) – detailed
certification for the previous year signed off by the Chair, CEO, FD
and Director of Rugby.
• Annual Player Submissions (1 September)– detailed
confirmation of current and previous season income and other
relevant information provided by each Player.
• Annual Audits (October to December) – independent audit
carried out at each Club by PwC on behalf of the Salary Cap
Director. This includes obligations on both the Club and Players.
• Extended Audit (October to December) – forensic audit carried
out by PwC Forensic Services Team on behalf of the Salary Cap
Director.
• Player, Agent and Club Education (July to August) – all
Participants receive education on the Salary Cap and how it
relates to them.
ANNUAL AUDIT
Every Club is subject to an Annual Audit, which is carried out by PwC, as
Premiership Rugby’s appointed Salary Cap accountants. The purpose is to confirm
the accuracy of each Club’s certification and to assess the completeness of the
submissions to ensure that all stipulated costs are included. Whilst the audit
focuses on the previous season, the Regulations allow the accountants and the
Salary Cap Director to look back at compliance over a 5 year period.
6 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

The accountants performed the audits on-site at Clubs; liaising with Clubs’ finance
teams and reviewing a wide range of documentation including; Player contracts,
commercial contracts invoices, payroll data, credit card reports and accounting
ledgers. During the audit they have full access to each Club’s accounting systems.
The Salary Cap Director also conducted over 50 individual interviews with selected
Players and the Chief Executive Officer at every Club.
A selection of Players at every Club were also required to provide the Salary Cap
Director with their 2019-20 Personal Tax Return and 2019-20 Company Tax Return
for review. This enabled greater insight and scrutiny of Player income, helped
corroborate Club information and provide additional assurances around compliance
of the cap.
As stated above all Players across all Clubs are now required to submit an annual
declaration and certification.
EXTENDED AUDIT
In addition to the Annual Audit, the winner of the Gallagher Premiership is subject
to an Extended Audit, undertaken by PwC’s Forensic Services Team. In line with
the additional powers provided as part of the Salary Regulations 2020-21, this was
the first season in which an Extended Forensic Audit was completed.
As 2020-21 winners, Harlequins was the first Club to be subject to an Extended
Forensic Audit.
The Extended Audit uses forensic technology to analyse the communications
between Club Officials and playing staff that may have a direct impact on the
application of the Salary Regulations at the Club.
This Extended Audit covers both the Club and Players.
Club Element
Email records from selected Club Officials during a stated timeframe were
obtained and reviewed, and the mobile phones of selected Club Officials were
forensically imaged.
PwC’s forensic software then applied a targeted set of search terms to the data
(from the emails and mobile phones, including WhatsApp messages), in order
to identify information within the responsive documents that indicated areas
of potential relevance to the Salary Regulations. The documents deemed as
potentially relevant were then reviewed by the Salary Cap Director.
The Salary Cap Director then met with the Club CEO and other relevant staff to
discuss the results of the Extended Audit and for them to answer any questions in
respect of any relevant documents.
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 7

Player Element
The Regulations require the Salary Cap Director to review tax returns and bank
statements of at least half of the Club’s Senior Players, including at least half
of the Club’s best paid Players. In addition to this, the Salary Cap Director
interviewed at least five of the Club’s Players.
Harlequins and their Players provided full and open co-operation during this
process. There were no adverse findings coming from this Extended Audit that
would impact upon the Club’s compliance of the Salary Cap.
Harlequins and their Players should be commended upon their approach, support
and full compliance towards this new provision within the Salary Cap.
AUDIT RESULTS
On completion of the Annual Audit and Extended Audit by PWC and the Salary Cap
Director, the results are communicated to each Club. The data provided in this
report comes from these certified values. Whilst these audits do confirm a final
position to each Club, the Salary Cap Director still has the ability to amend the
values if new information comes to light within a 5 year window.
The data must be read in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic where most Clubs
reduced salaries throughout the 2020-21 season. On average, reductions were
set at 25% of total salary, however a number of Clubs chose to set a floor value
for COVID-19 enforced salary deductions, for example £25,000 and therefore,
protecting the lowest earners at the Club. Therefore, the data reflects the amounts
actually paid rather than the full pre-COVID-19 contractual amounts.
GENERAL LEAGUE INSIGHTS
The following section provides insights into Salary Cap spending across the
Premiership Clubs during the 2020-21 season. The Salary Cap Year runs from 1
July – 30 June and counted in the Salary Cap are payments made by Clubs (and
their Connected Parties) to Players (and their Connected Parties).
The Total Cash Spend in the Senior and Academy Salary Caps are detailed below.
Total Cash Spend is the spend by all 13 Premiership Clubs to employ their Players,
which is counted in the Salary Cap. This includes all payments from Clubs (and
their Connected Parties) to Players (and their Connected Parties), along with
costs attributed to employing Players such as Employer National Insurance
contributions and agents fees. The total numbers of Players contributing to Club
Cost in the Senior Salary Cap is 607 and in the Academy Salary Cap 263. These
Player numbers include Players who were on short-term contracts during the
season and ex-Players who received payments during the Salary Cap Year.
TOTAL
CASH
SPEND
SENIOR
£94,722,353
ACADEMY
£4,143,756
SENIOR
£7,286,335
ACADEMY
£318,750
AVERAGE
CASH
SPEND
8 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

PLAYERS USED AND SQUAD SIZES
“Players Used” refers to the cumulative number of Players used by Clubs in
Premiership and European matches through the course of the season. This may
include Players which are classed as Senior or Academy Players for the purposes
of the Salary Cap. The 2019-20 season was heavily disrupted by the COVID-19
pandemic, with the league being suspended on 16 March 2020 and restarting on 14
August 2020. As a result of this suspension, Clubs saw numerous Players depart
and new Players join during the course of the 2019-20 season, which resulted in an
increased average number of Players used (59), as shown in the graph below. The
2019-20 season is therefore not comparable with other seasons when analysing
the trend of the number of Players used.
80
AVERAGE NUMBER OF PLAYERS USED
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
44 44 45 45
43
59
47 47 49 49
0
2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 2014-15 2015-16
SEASON
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
The graph below details the Players Used v League Points during the 2020-21
season, showing a trend of Clubs with more league points using fewer Players.
Whilst the average number of Players in each Senior Salary Cap squad was 47
the balance between this number and Players used (49 Players) comes from the
Academy Salary Cap Players, which comprised on average 20 Academy Players.
58
56
54
52
50
48
46
44
42
PLAYERS USED vs LEAGUE POINTS
40
20 30 40 50 60
LEAGUE POINTS
70 80 90
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 9

PLAYER SALARY INSIGHTS
Two terms referred to in this report are “Total Salary” and “Player Income”. “Total
Salary” is defined in the Salary Regulations and means any remuneration that has
been or will be paid by a Club or a Club’s Connected Party to or for a Player or a
Player’s Connected Party. It also includes remuneration that has been paid or is
due by a Club to HMRC in respect of Employer National Insurance contributions
relating to a Player. “Player Income” is not defined in the Regulations, but is
used in this report to describe the package that the Player receives, it does not
include costs for items such as Agents fees and Employer National Insurance
contributions.
AVERAGE SENIOR SALARY AND
PLAYER INCOME OVER TIME
The graph below shows the average Senior Salary and Player Income since
2013-14. As detailed above, most Clubs reduced salaries in the 2020-21 season
due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore this season is not
comparable with the other seasons. To avoid skewing the data, Players earning less
than £30,000 per year have been excluded, as for Players on short-term contracts
earning less than this amount it may not be reflective of their full season value. The
average Senior Player Total Salary in 2020-21 was £171,187 and Player Income
£143,699.
AVERAGE SENIOR PLAYER TOTAL SALARY AND PLAYER INCOME
AVERAGE OF TOTAL SALARY
AVERAGE OF PLAYER INCOME
£ 200,000
£ 180,000
£ 160,000
£ 140,000
£ 120,000
£ 100,000
£ 80,000
£ 60,000
£ 40,000
£ 20,000
£ 0
2013-14 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21
PLAYER INCOME BANDINGS FOR ALL SENIOR PLAYERS
28%
17%
19%
14%
7%
5%
4%
1%
4%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
10 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

AVERAGE SENIOR PLAYER INCOME BY POSITION
The graphs in this section detail Senior Player Income by position in the 2020-21
season. Where a Player has played multiple positions during the season, the data
relates to his primary position. A Player’s primary position is determined by where
he has played the most number of minutes in Premiership matches.
The graph below shows the average Player Income by Position. The highest paid
position is Fly-Half, with an average income of £175,679. The highest paid Forward
is Lock, with an average income of £158,617. The lowest paid Forward is Hooker
with an average income of £113,115 and lowest paid Back is Scrum-Half with
£117,912. In the graph below, Forwards are shown in light blue and Backs in dark
blue.
AVERAGE INCOME BY POSITION
FLY-HALF
£175,679
CENTRE
£167,779
LOCK
£158,617
FULL-BACK
£154,021
BACK ROW
£144,437
PROP
£140,897
WING
£122,663
SCRUM-HALF
£117,912
HOOKER
£113,115
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 11

The graphs below show in more detail the distribution across salary bandings.
The arrows by each graph indicate the average for each position.
27%
FORWARDS
LOCK
£159K
15%
17%
15%
9%
6%
2%
3%
6%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
27%
BACK ROW
17%
18%
15%
£144K
9%
3%
5%
1%
5%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
PROP
22%
25%
13%
14%
11%
£141K
5% 6%
2% 2%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
12 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

43%
HOOKER
£113K
21%
15%
13%
0%
6%
2%
0% 0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
BACKS
21%
18%
24%
FLY-HALF
£176K
8%
11%
13%
3% 3%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
0%
24%
21%
19%
CENTRE
£168K
13%
6% 6%
8%
2% 2%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 13

27%
23%
FULL-BACK
17%
17%
£154K
7%
7%
3%
0%
0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
35%
WING
25%
13%
13%
10%
£123K
3%
0%
0% 0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
SCRUM-HALF
32%
23%
27%
£118K
5%
7%
2%
2%
2%
0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
14 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

AVERAGE SENIOR PLAYER INCOME BY AGE
The graphs below detail Senior Player Income by age in the 2020-21 season.
Player age is as at 1 July 2020. The age banding with the highest average income is
26-28, with an average of £182,532.
£ 200,000
£ 180,000
£ 160,000
£ 140,000
£ 120,000
£ 100,000
£ 80,000
£ 60,000
£ 40,000
£ 20,000
AGE
£ 0
17-19 20-22 23-25 26-28 29-31 32+
The graphs below show in more detail the distribution across salary
bandings by age. The arrows by each graph indicate the average for each age.
75%
17-19
£50K
13% 13%
0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
38%
42%
20-22
£76K
12%
2% 3%
1% 1%
0% 0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 15

33%
23-25
20%
22%
12%
£114K
7%
2% 2% 2%
0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
24%
26-28
14%
15% 15%
12%
11%
£183K
5%
3%
0%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
29-31
21%
23%
19%
10%
£174K
6%
6% 6%
6%
2%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
32+
26%
24%
26%
9%
7%
£163K
4%
2%
0%
2%
£30-50K £50-100K £100-150K £150-200K £200-250K £250-300K £300-350K £350-400K £400K+
16 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

AVERAGE SENIOR PLAYER INCOME BY
PREMIERSHIP EXPERIENCE
The graph below details Senior Player Income by Premiership Experience in the
2020-21 season. Premiership experience is defined as the number of Premiership
appearances as at 1 July 2020.
£250K
PREMIERSHIP EXPERIENCE
£205K
£200K
£174K
£150K
£130K
£149K
£100K
£88K
£94K
£50K
0
0 APPS 1-10 APPS 11-20 APPS 21-50 APPS 51-100 APPS
OVER 100 APPS
The graph shows a clear trend of increased income with more Premiership
appearances. It should be noted that Players in the category ‘0 Premiership
Appearances’ can be further split into two categories, those who have joined
a Premiership Club from a Club abroad and those who have not (i.e. academy
graduates). Players who have joined from abroad and have 0 Premiership
Appearances have an average income of £98,123, compared to £44,550 for Players
who have not come from abroad.
AVERAGE SENIOR PLAYER INCOME BY
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
The graph below details Senior Player Income by International Experience in the
2020-21 season. International experience is defined as the number of international
caps as at 1 July 2020. The graph shows a trend of increased income with more
international caps, with the biggest increases coming between the bands of 0 caps
and 1-5 caps, and 21-50 caps and over 50 caps. The average income of a Player
with over 50 international caps is £325,306.
£350K
INTERNATIONAL CAPS
£325K
£300K
£250K
£200K
£184K
£198K
£207K
£250K
£150K
£100K
£97K
£50K
0
0 CAPS 1-5 CAPS 6-10 CAPS 11-20 CAPS 21-50 CAPS
OVER 50 CAPS
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 17

EXCLUDED PLAYERS
Clubs are entitled to nominate up to two Players to be Excluded Players.
Remuneration paid to Excluded Players is excluded from the Salary Cap. A Player
is only permitted to be nominated as an Excluded Player if he:
• is new to the Premiership;
• has always been at his current Club; or
• has been with his current Club for at least 2 full Salary Cap Years.
The average income of an Excluded Player is £457,409. However, Excluded Players
are not always the highest paid Players, the average income of the top 24 earners
during the 2020-21 season is £532,894 and 10 of the 24 Excluded Players are
not in the top 24 earners. One Club did not nominate any Excluded Players for the
2020-21 Salary Cap Year.
EXCLUDED
PLAYER
AVERAGE
INCOME
AVERAGE
INCOME OF
THE TOP 24
EARNERS
10
1
£457,409
£532,894
10 OF THE 24
EXCLUDED PLAYERS
ARE NOT IN THE
TOP 24 EARNERS
1 CLUB DID
NOT HAVE ANY
EXCLUDED
PLAYERS
Contact Details
salarycap@premiershiprugby.com
18 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21

GLOSSARY
Home Grown Credits
Clubs are able to claim credits of £50,000 per Home Grown Player, up to a
maximum of £600,000 per club, which incentivises Clubs to retain home grown
talent. A Player qualifies as a Home Grown Senior Player if he has been a Player at
the same Club since he was 17 years old and for at least two complete Salary Cap
Years prior to the current one.
International Credits
Clubs are able to claim credits of £40,000 for each Player classed as a Senior EPS
Player, who has been nominated by the RFU to be a member of the Annual Senior
Elite Player Squad. Clubs can claim further credits when Players are unavailable
for Club matches due to being away with England or their International team.
Injury Dispensations
A Club is entitled to credits for the cost of replacing one or more injured Players
up to a maximum of £400,000. The salary paid to a Player who has not made any
appearances for his Club in a season due to injury can be excluded from the Salary
Cap.
Excluded Players
Each Club is entitled to nominate up to two Excluded Players; the remuneration
paid to those Players is excluded from the Salary Cap.
SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21 | 19

20 | SALARY CAP REPORT 2020-21