The success of the men’s Rugby World Cup has meant that developing countries have tried to semi-professionalise their club competitions, or, at least, negotiate a contract for their best players to stay in the game for a longer period.
It is important to note herein that some of these competitions are amateur competitions, even if a minority of the player base happens to have a contractual link with a given club, which actually is the case in Portugal, Spain, or Italy.
In France, professionalisation has grown for rugby such that the fourth division of rugby, Nationale 2, consists of clubs paying full-time contacts to the majority of players.
These include, amongst others, the local club competitions in which only amateur players are allowed to take part, with any form of wages 100 percent prohibited, hence still a fully non-professional rugby competition in Argentina and Uruguay. Not every country/continent has fared well, though. When COVID struck in 2020, Australia had its National Rugby Championship scrapped. They were replaced by the Australian Super Rugby Pacific academies, but that void still remains pending better days.
From the Gallagher Premiership to Super Rugby Pacific, from the Kenya Cup to Major League Rugby, there’s no shortage of leagues offering deals to players and here’s a list of some of them.
Europe
Gallagher Premiership
With Finn Russell sitting as the highest-paid player in the Gallagher Premiership, England’s prime club competition has employed serious resources to be acknowledged as one of Europe’s finest leagues.
According to a report by the Gallagher Premiership board published last April: “Following the inaugural report for 2020/21, we can now provide further insights with comparison data across three seasons (2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23). For the second consecutive season, the salary cap level in 2022/23 was £5m (down from £6.4m in 2020/21).
The report also noted that “Fly-half remains the highest-paid position with an average income of £217,761 (up from £217,153). Scrum-half was the lowest, with an average income of £121,104 (down from £132,590).” RFU Championship
While the Premiership budgets and wages go by the millions of pounds/euros, the same cannot be said about the RFU Championship sides, with the average salary fee set at £25k per year, depending on the team. A more experienced, but in form, player can land a £70k per year contract, but the youngest athletes will have to contend for a lower deal.
The second tier of English club rugby has its fair share of semi-pro players, London Scottish being a prime example, paying at most £27k per season to the squad’s best players.
Super Rugby Cymru
The salary cap for Welsh regional competition the Super Rugby Cymru stands at £150k per team, while the average player earns just £4k a year, given that the overall majority of personnel have a semi-pro status. Once named the Indigo League, this tournament works as a pipeline to the URC’s Welsh teams.
Energia AIL
Nothing has changed within Ireland’s All-Ireland League, with clubs remaining largely amateur. While there isn’t a wage bill as such, players still seem to get paid either via a per-match bonus or through helping those personnel find a job that can accommodate the club’s training schedule.
Top 14
The Top 14 has become a global behemoth, capturing most of the international crème de la crème. Owen Farrell is currently the best-earning player, just below one million pounds a season. Antoine Dupont is the biggest earner amongst the French internationals, taking home £625k yearly, 12x times more than the average yearly wage of a Top 14 player.
Toulouse have the largest operating budget in the Top 14, with an annual budget of €46m, operating on the other side of the scale will be RC Vannes, having spent ‘only’ €17m during the 2024/2025 season. There is a salary cap of €10.7m in the Top 14, though teams who supply players to the French national team can go beyond the limit.
Espoirs academy players receive a minimum of €18-22k per season, improving their salaries once they sign a full-senior contract.
Pro D2
Regarding the Pro D2, France’s second-tier club competition, the average senior player earns in the region of €75-85k per season. Locks and fly-halves are the best-paid positions, with some of the towering gods of the lineout bringing home a €12k salary per month.
Former England skipper and British and Irish Lion Courtney Lawes joined CA Brive on a cool €440k a year salary, not bad at all given the Pro D2 league he now plays in.
CA Brive, Provence, US Oyonnax and US Nevers all have an operating budget above €13m with the payroll slice very notable in the pot.
Nationale
Nationale replaced what was once the Féderale 1. It still exists, but it was downgraded as France’s 5th division. It has a mix of professional and semi-pro teams fighting for a Pro D2 promotion.
More than a couple of international stars are playing there, like former Wallabies Taqele Naiyaravoro, signed a contract with Narbonne for an undisclosed deal. Wages can go between €2-10k a month for the median player, but some earn more than €30k or even higher than that number.
Serie A Elite
Things have not been easy for the Italian club scene, with some clubs going into financial restructuring and others completely changing their direction and opting for a more amateur approach, which has allowed Rovigo, Viadana and Petrarca to dominate the league. With talks of Zebre being dropped to allow for a new club franchise to take its place, most of the Italian personnel are not paid, or win a symbolic wage per month.
Didi 10
The clubs of the Georgian top division have tried to acknowledge the sacrifice and good job made from the players. In fact, teams pay, on average, 25,000 Georgian Lari per season, or approximately €8k. To all the personnel involved in Black Lion the salary is higher, with the very best players earning near €3k a month.
Rugby League Kaufland
There is a multi-layered wage situation going on in the main club competition of Romania. Those who are currently playing for the Romanian national team can earn a max of €5k a month, but the average salary goes in between €24-26k a year.
As for the young promising talents that start their adventure in the Rugby League Kaufland, they will have a monthly payment between €500 to €1k, which in part explains that there are less Romanian players looking for a chance abroad.
Top12
Although the top division in Portugal is mostly amateur, there are quite a few players earning €15k a season. Most of these players are however only paid up to 10 months, well short of being a full-time contract. Even with that (big) caveat, the Top 12 clubs have been able to attract players from South Africa, New Zealand, Wales, Argentina or Australia, with former Chief Sam Henwood and former Pumas Julio Farias having played in Portugal in the 2010s.
Division de Honor
The average salary/prize money in the Spanish top flight differs widely according to the player’s status. Though the stars, usually imported from other countries, can get more than €22k per year, plus housing and plane tickets, most of the locals are amateur or paid per game, which limits their season wage to €4-8k.
Ereklasse
The Netherlands has grown for the past five years with the league employing some international quality players, like former Emirates Lions Robbie Coetzee, Te Campbell and a few others. However, only a few Dutch clubs offer a full/part-time contract to their players and there’s no overall average wage between the sides that compete in the Ereklasse. Housing, job opportunities and a modest salary are the commonest ways of payment to those who go to the Netherlands in search of a pro rugby career. Bundesliga After almost six years of hardship, Germany seems ready to fight for a new and bright future, with the local Bundesliga having been able to produce much of the national team’s talent. Even so, clubs do not usually offer full-time contracts, instead opting to help them into school, employment, or introduce them as an academy coach. Of course, there are the few exceptions and some of the best players can pull a sort of part-time salary.
Ekstraliga
The Polish premiership is very much an amateur competition; yet, clubs can sign up to twelve non-Polish players (only five can be in the XV), allocating funds to hire some foreign acquisitions. Money-wise, players can expect to find a 10-month contract with an €8-12k total wage.
North America
MLR
Major League Rugby is the most respected franchise competition of the United States of America, and in the last six seasons, it built an excellent reputation and hired players from around the world, the likes of Matt Giteau, Ma’a Nonu, Zura Zhvania, and many more.
The highest-paid players will net more than €95k a year, but the average player will earn between €25-30k per season. In MLR you will find two types of contracts: full-time and part-time. Part-timers get less money but get an hourly rate plus bonuses.
From a competition based on recruiting international superstars, MLR has rapidly become an enclave for American players wanting to be professional and yet stay on US soil.
Asia
Japan Rugby League One
Japan’s high-octane League One has rapidly developed as one of the most attractive tournaments in the world; its reputation was enhanced by the arrival of international superstars.
The highest-paid players in Japan’s League One: Two-time World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe, with close to €1m, and Springboks teammate Faf de Klerk his nearest challenger. Still, since 2015, Japan has caught up a little bit, improving the wage and working conditions of local Japanese players, with the likes of Keita Inagaki and Kazuki Himeno recently securing very lucrative deals.
League Two sides have also managed to attract international players, not least because some of Japan’s wealthiest corporations have become involved.
Korea Super Rugby League
Now famous because of the Netflix documentary, the Korea Super League has been on a rollercoaster for the last twelve years but it seems things are at a turning point due to a major cash injection.
In 2024 Hyundai Glovis added a fifth title to their trophy cabinet, with a team packed full of South Korean internationals and four foreign players. There’s little to no information about how well the league pays, but it is believed that players can secure €15k per season, remembering that the season is quite short compared to others.
Africa
Currie Cup
The breeding ground for the best talent in the Rainbow Nation has upped its conditions and has built a trustworthy pathway for players to achieve excellence, with the median salary being €21k per season.
Springboks and other top-rated athletes are on a whole different level, as the salary cap has expanded since 2021 with the Bulls, Sharks, Stormers and Lions allowed to spend €3.4m a season.
Nile Special Rugby Men’s Championship
Ugandan rugby is thriving, with the local Premiership paying prize money to clubs based on their finishing position. Players get an allowance for attending training and games, with most receiving 40,000 UGX (11€) a week, making a total of 1,600,000 in each season (410€). The Heathens won the Nile Special Rugby Men’s Championship in 2024; the team won the prize money of 10 million UGX (€3k).
Kenya Cup
The Kenya Cup, since 2019 has experienced some hiccups. With the absence of a sponsor in the competition, no prize money was available, and what the players get must be that their clubs could pick from their investors. Only some pay some sort of wage while the majority have absolutely zero financial ways of paying any type of salary.
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