Every Gallagher Premiership club’s highest-ever paid player revealed
Top 10s/ListsWednesday, 28 October 2020 at 17:37
but left at the end of his first season to e-join the Waratahs to allow him to once again represent the Wallabies.
Who is the all-time top earner at your club and how much did they cost per season?
BATH - SAM BURGESS
Yes, they really did pay the cross-code star a bumper contract of £500,000 per season to convince him to make the move to the Rec. Luckily, he'd only be at the club for a year before returning to rugby league following England's dismal display at the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
BRISTOL BEARS - CHARLES PIUTAU
The former All Black full-back or wing, who surprised many by leaving New Zealand before reaching the peak of his powers, became British rugby’s first £1m per season man when he joined the Bears in 2018..
EXETER CHIEFS - STUART HOGG
The Scottish fullback became the Chiefs marquee signing when he moved to Sandy Park from Glasgow Warriors in 2019, and reported earns £550,000 per season.
GLOUCESTER RUGBY - JOHN AFOA
Danny Cipriani comes close on £380,000 per season, but the All Black prop remains the highest paid player ever at Kingsholm. In 2013, Afoa officially joined the Cherry & Whites on a four-year contract worth £400,000 per season. He departed the club in 2018 to join local rivals Bristol Bears.
HARLEQUINS - JAMIE ROBERTS
The Welsh powerhouse reportedly pocketed £450,000 per season while at Twickenham Stoop. Though earning even more money at Racing 92, the Wales centre decided to up sticks to England in 2018 to combine playing with studying medicine at Cambridge.
LEICESTER TIGERS - MANU TUILAGI
The centre turned down a lucrative £2.5m offer from Racing 92 to sign a two-year extension with Leicester Tigers six months prior to the 2019 Rugby World Cup. However, despite becoming the clubs highest-ever paid player on £550,000 per season, he'd depart a year later for Sale Sharks after rejecting a pay-cut.
LONDON IRISH - PADDY JACKSON
RugbyPass sources indicate that the Irish fly-half is on a figure close to £500,000 a year after he joined the newly-promoted side in 2019. His international teammate Sean O'Brien is second on the pecking order, also joining in 2019 and earning around £450,000 per season.
NEWCASTLE FALCONS - CARL HAYMAN
The All Blacks prop reportedly became the best paid rugby union player in the world after joining Newcastle Falcons on a contract reportedly worth £500,000; a year from 2007 until 2010. This contract was partly funded by Northern Rock – the Falcons' main sponsor at the time.
NORTHAMPTON SAINTS - LOUIS PICAMOLES
The number 8 earned approximately £650,000 per season when he moved to Franklin's Gardens in 2016. It was announced in May 2017 that Picamoles would leave Northampton despite still having two seasons left on his contract to link back up with former club Montpellier Hérault RC who paid Saints a substantial transfer fee for the France international
SALE SHARKS - FAF DE KLERK
A key member of South Africa’s World Cup-winning Springboks squad in 2019, the scrum-half signed a contract extension with Premiership club Sale Sharks in 2018 that sees him earn £500,000 per year.
SARACENS - OWEN FARRELL
arrell will remain at the club that he has called ‘home’ since the age of 14 until at least 2022, earning himself a hefty pay-rise in the process. His new deal means he will now earn in excess of £750,000 a season, bringing him in line with some of the highest paid players in the world.
WASPS - KURTLEY BEALE
The fullback became the highest paid rugby player in England after putting pen to paper on a two-year contract with Wasps in 2016 . He was paid £750,000 per season,
WORCESTER WARRIORS - BEN TE'O
The Warriors broke the bank to sign the England centre, paying him £375,000 per season. Arriving in 2016, despite solid form for England during this stint, the Warriors fans barely saw him in his three years at Sixways, which is not what you want from your highest ever paid player.
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