Wages. Rugby: Dupont, Alldritt, Jalibert… Who are the highest paid players in the Top 14?

What is the average salary of a professional Rugby player in France? Which positions pay the most in Top 14? The French championship is reputed to be the best in the world, the one which offers the biggest salaries in the rugby world. And this for several years. The recent debates on payroll regulation have made it possible to update a lot of verified and sourced data, thanks to the study by the audit firm Nexia S & A that Midi Olympique was able to consult. This 45-page document provides an overview of the salaries of the Top 14, with its truths and disparities. The average salary last year for the 520 professional players was €259,000 gross, or just over €21,000 per month. That is five times more than in Pro D2 or even 33% higher than that of the Premiership or even Japan, where only foreign players are truly very, very well paid. The Top 14 is therefore indeed the financial El Dorado of the oval planet.

Around thirty players at €480,000 or more

However, when we look at the remuneration by bracket, we realize that 27% of Top 14 players received less than €60,000 gross per year. This corresponds to the remuneration at hope status. The average squad of Top 14 clubs was made up of fifty-five players, including eighteen hopeful contracts, or 32%. At the top of the pyramid, we find thirty-three players who declare a salary greater than €480,000 gross, or 40,000 euros monthly. These are, unsurprisingly, the stars of our championship and, in the vast majority, French internationals.
If we look at the breakdown of income by position, we realize that it is better to evolve in the second line or at the opening than in the first line. This is one of the surprises of the study. The right pillar who, around ten years ago, was the highest paid player (remember Carl Hayman, Census Johnston, Nicolas Mas or even Luc Ducalcon), is no longer even on the podium of the biggest wages. Conversely, left-footers and hookers are found in the lowest categories with flankers and wingers. “These are positions where training centers produce a lot of good, even very good players.”a player agent slipped us this weekend, “unlike number 5s, strong players or open-scorers. What is rare remains expensive.“

Dupont, Kolbe… Where are we paid the best?

Who is the highest paid rugby player in the world? The subject, as taboo as it is confidential, has already generated and will continue to generate countless papers and desk discussions. The Top 14, the richest championship in the world, with an unparalleled overall budget, obviously places some of its elements among the highest salaries on the oval planet.
According to our information, there are around ten players in a range which is close to (or even exceeds) €600,000 gross annually. The Racingman Owen Farrell, the Toulouse Antoine Dupont, the Rochelais Grégory Alldritt and Will Skelton and the Bordeaux Matthieu Jalibert are particularly well referenced on the market. Their envelope is inflated by possible selection bonuses and by additional partnerships.

Japan, only competitor in the Top 14

If the French championship still offers very high salaries, the time of millionaires, embodied by Toulonnais Jonny Wilkinson and Racingman Dan Carter, seems to be over. Maintaining a salary cap at a reasonable height and the density of the workforce in the French elite largely explain this relative moderation. Currently, the Top 14 no longer offers the highest salaries in the world.

The main financial competitor for international stars is in Japan. The number of foreigners being limited in each franchise, the managers concentrate their efforts on two or three highly rated elements. For information, the Japanese Rugby League One brought together twenty-five global players in 2024, including thirteen finalists for the 2023 World Cup. De Klerk and Kolbe thus earned, among others, a million euros per season.