How Premiership Rugby’s salary cap regulations work

When it comes to salary caps, US sports have led the way with no fewer than 10 disciplines adopting a restriction in financial spending within their respective sports. Most notably, the NBA, NFL and NHL have pioneered this approach.

In the UK, currently there are only a few sports which adopt a salary cap – rugby, cricket and the Women’s Super League. The top-level leagues in both rugby union (Gallagher Premiership) and rugby league (Super League) have salary caps. In brief, the Super League’s salary cap is lower than in the Gallagher Premiership - This sits at a limit of the lower of (i) £2.1 million; or (ii) the amount that it is deemed that a club can spend pursuant to set financial sustainability regulations (whichever is the lower). Further consideration of the Super League’s salary cap sits outside of this article.

This article explores the current salary cap in rugby union and aims to identify the positives and negatives of whether the Regulations work and whether salary caps generally should be rolled out across other sports within the UK.