Much has been said in recent weeks about the "salary cap" - the cap on club payroll - with the unprecedented scandal that has struck the Saracens, the best European team in the past five years. The London club, winner in particular of three of the last four Champions Cups, will be relegated to the English second division at the end of the season for having circumvented the system of limiting the payroll thanks to various financial arrangements ensuring significant additional income to its star players.
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In France, the National Rugby League has set its salary cap for Top 14 clubs for this year for three years at € 11.3 million compared to € 10 million previously. The LNR then explained that “the derogations relating to hope contracts, first professional contracts and medical wild cards which represented a cumulative amount of 1.3 M € maximum” were “deleted and the salary cap is fixed for all at 11, € 3 million ”. In accordance with the agreement signed between the FFR and the LNR concerning international players, the credit of € 200,000 per player appearing on the “List Group France” is maintained.
Last December, our colleagues from Midi Olympique published the ranking of the Top 14 clubs according to their payroll (see below) . ASM Clermont Auvergne leads (13.1 M €), Stade Toulousain (12.9 M €) and Racing 92 (12.6 M €) complete the podium. Note that these three clubs, used to playing the leading roles, are also the ones with the biggest budgets. Overall, this ranking shows that the disparities are less significant for the salary cap than budgets, since there is less than 2 M € difference between the first (ASM) and the teams at the bottom of this ranking (Agen, Bayonne , Brive: € 11.3 million), which are just at the limit set by the LNR.
Montpellier dismissed by the Council of State
More problematic for the “small clubs”, the important part which the wages of the players represent in the total budget. For example, the SUA has a payroll of € 11.3 million which represents almost its entire budget (€ 12.5 million). Ditto for Brive and Bayonne, who have an identical payroll for a budget around 16 M €.
Some club presidents campaign for the abolition of this salary cap. Thus, last December, the Montpellier club had submitted to the Council of State a priority question of constitutionality (QPC) aimed at obtaining the outright cancellation of the regulation establishing the principles of the salary cap. The highest administrative court had dismissed the MHR, explaining that "the principle of a ceiling on the remuneration of athletes does not pose any difficulty under the Constitution". He added that "the salary cap pursues an objective of general interest without unduly disrupting the freedom to conduct a business".
Clermont has only two internationals in the French team
At the end of November, the Appeal Commission of the French Rugby Federation (FFR) had whitewashed the Hérault club for exceeding the ceiling of the payroll for which the specialized section of the Disciplinary Commission of the League had, in October, decided to '' a penalty of 400,000 euros. Montpellier, which has a high quality workforce, is regularly suspected of circumventing the salary cap in recent seasons. The independent "Salary Cap Manager", before being disowned, had indicated that the MHR had exceeded during the 2017-2018 season by more than 428,000 euros the ceiling of the payroll.
This classification of payrolls also raises questions for Clermont. For a long time, the Auvergne club was, with Toulouse, one of the main international suppliers for the XV of France. In this regard, the ASM could therefore accumulate several credits of € 200,000 for each international selected. Things have recently changed since in the group of 42 players selected for the Six Nations Tournament, there are only two "Jaunards" left: winger Damian Penaud (currently injured in the calf) and neophyte flanker Alexandre Fischer, who n has not yet honored its first international cape. However, exceeding the Clermont salary cap (€ 1.8 million) corresponds (schematically!) To "credits" for nine internationals. It may be necessary to change his rifle…
Payrolls of Top 14 clubs for 2019-2020:
1. Clermont: € 13.1 million
2. Toulouse: € 12.9 million
3. Racing 92: € 12.6 million
4. Toulon: € 12.3 million
5. La Rochelle: € 12.1 million
6. Montpellier: € 11.9 million
7. Stade Français Paris: € 11.8 million
8. Lyon: € 11.7 million
9. Bordeaux-Bègles: € 11.6 million
10. Castres: € 11.4 million
11. Pau: € 11.4 million
12. Agen: € 11.3 million
13. Bayonne: € 11.3 million
14. Brive: € 11.3 million
(Olympic Midi Source)
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