Senior players including Owen Farrell and Ben Youngs vote to split England Six Nations pay equally
Alex Lowe, Deputy Rugby Correspondent, Tuesday March 09 2021, 5.00pm, The Times
The England captain, Owen Farrell, will be paid the same during the Six Nations as Paolo Odogwu, the uncapped Wasps centre, after senior players voted to restructure the pay deal so that all squad members receive an equal share of a £2.1 million pot.
Every player in camp for the duration of the championship will receive about £75,000 whether they are selected in a matchday squad or not, which works out at £15,000 for each of the five games.
The England squad are still the best-paid players in the world but have effectively taken a 40 per cent pay cut since the 2019 Six Nations due to the impact of Covid-19 on the finances and logistics of elite rugby.
The England players initially agreed a one-year pay deal with the RFU in September that saw their maximum earnings drop by 25 per cent, from £23,325 per game to about £17,500.
That deal would see Eddie Jones, the head coach, select a training squad of up to 36 players, but those not required for the game would be sent home on a Tuesday night, having earned a training fee. The 23-man matchday squad would then be paid £17,500 in match fee and image rights, with two non-playing reserves each receiving 50 per cent.
Stricter Covid-19 protocols were then introduced for the Six Nations that limited Jones to a training squad of 28 players who must remain in camp for the whole week, whether or not they are selected for the game.
The Team England executive committee — thought to include Farrell, Jamie George, Elliot Daly, Joe Launchbury and Ben Youngs — voted unanimously to restructure the deal so the pot of money is divided 28 ways rather than by 24.
The new structure, akin to a flat rate tour fee, benefits the fringe players more than the regular stars of the first team because it represents a further £2,500 reduction in the match fee/images rights package from the autumn.
The senior players are understood to have pushed it through, however, because they felt it was important to recognise the shared commitment of the whole squad given the restrictions of training in a Covid-19 bubble. When Jones said on Sunday he was happy with the leadership of the England team, despite their struggles on the field with two Six Nations defeats from three games, this would be an example of why.
Odogwu has benefitted the most. The 24-year-old has been in camp since the start of the Six Nations without playing a match. Under the previous structure he would have earned about £2,000 a week in training fees but could instead take home £75,000 from his first senior England experience.
The £2.1 million pot does not include title or grand slam bonuses, given neither are now applicable. Of the 28 players who gathered for training ahead of England’s first game, 23 have been in camp as official squad members for every week of the campaign. The others will be paid on a pro-rata basis.
Topic: Bonus for Paolo (Read 1223 times)
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