Salary Caps Revisited

In days of yore when I was but a youth and playing rugby union for St.Helens and England RU the 15 a side code’s staunch amateur ethos was somewhat hypocritical when the presence of “boot money” and “job offers” were available for many leading players. Indeed I was offered a job in Bristol if I left “sunny St.Helens” to play for the city’s then famous union club. Following the Times newspaper’s revelations into the supposed relaxing of the investigations into any breaches of the salary cap payments to protect the image of the Aviva Premiership, it appears that once again honesty is being cast aside to avert any bad publicity.

Following claims that overspending by two clubs was under investigation in December but has now been postponed Nigel Wray, the Saracens chairman, when asked if such action was to prevent bad publicity for the Premiership said,” I think that is a perfectly fair analysis. We are trying to build the game, build the sponsorship, build the TV rights.”

At a time when the 2015 European Champions Cup takes place without any English club for the third time in four seasons and the huge cash resources of the French clubs like Toulon can attract many of this country’s and the world’s greatest players without the restrictions of a £5million pounds salary cap I have some sympathy for our leading union clubs. As I do for our rugby league clubs who also labour under a salary cap but who, unlike union, operate under a very determined independent body of investigators with a history of punishing even the most famous of clubs for any irregularities of the salary cap funding.

At a time when both codes of rugby are losing star players, Union to the excesses of French millionaires and League to the rich Australian clubs, it is understandable that such clubs are desperate to maintain the men who attract the crowds, the media attention, and ultimately the sponsorship and TV rights monies. In League, thanks to the strict salary cap restrictions and the current lack of the allowance of one or two “marquee” players, it is probable that we will never again see the likes of world stars like Aussies, Wally Lewis, Mal Meninga, Brett Kenny and company, attracting ever bigger crowds on the terraces.

A salary cap, in both League and Union, does appear to bring about a greater competitiveness between the teams and offers a financial viability for all clubs whether or not they are wealthy enough to reach for the ceiling of any cap. What is of greater interest is which of the rugby codes’ league formats will prove to be the better.  For, at a time when Rugby Union is opting to expand from a 12 team league to a 14 team league and to scrap relegation from the Premiership, Rugby League has, this season, switched from a 14 to a 12 team Super League with possible relegation.

Which format will be the most competitive and exciting only time will tell!   

Ray French (April 2015)