Up until now, the only rugby players to take home more than €1m a season have been Dan Carter [Racing 92] and Ayumu Goromaru [Toulon].
Rugby wages are never likely to threaten those of the highest paid football stars but several of the game’s top players could soon be on seven-figure deals.
The highest paid player in recent Aviva Premiership history was Kurtley Beale, who got £750,000 for his short stay with Wasps. The agency that negotiated that deal – Stellar Group – are looking after the interests of Lions star Maro Itoje and he is set to eclipse the £1m [€1.1m] mark with his next contract.
The 22-year-old lock excelled for the British & Irish Lions in New Zealand and was one of the best players on the park in the final two Tests. His stock definitely increased on the tour but Saracens have him contracted up until the summer of 2019.
The Rugby Paper reports that a rival Premiership side has already offered Itoje £850,000 to leave Sarries but they were rebuffed.
Saracens may opt to offer the England international a new, improved deal ahead of 2017/18 rather than have him run down his contract. Others would argue that Itoje may be better served seeing out another season before going back in to get a new deal next summer as the 2019 World Cup draws closer.
An ‘industry insider’ told the paper:
“Saracens are going to have to pay a lot of money to keep him. He will become the Premiership’s first million pound a year player and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him earning between £1.2 million and £1.3 million a year.
“That could go even higher if he was to move to France where clubs would be falling over themselves to sign him.”
The negotiations, it seems, have already begun.
The era of the €1m a season rugby player may not be far away.
