New Zealand’s rugby wages have been put into perspective with just two Kiwis among the top 10 highest paid players in the world.
Dan Carter, who has recently signed a big-money deal with French side Racing Metro, tops the list while former All Black prop John Afoa is ranked as rugby’s fourth highest earner.
London’s Daily Telegraph has compiled the top 10 list of earners, though they strangely omitted Afoa, who we have placed at No.4. Afoa is widely acknowledged to be the highest paid player in England with a Gloucester deal reportedly worth over $1m a season.
But there is no room for any Super Rugby players on the rich list, with the top earners all coming from clubs in France and England.
The list also features one Australian (Matt Giteau), two Welshmen (Leigh Halfpenny and Jamie Roberts), one Englishman (league convert Sam Burgess), one Irishman (Johnny Sexton), two Frenchmen (Morgan Parra and Thierry Dusautoir) and South African Bryan Habana.
Here’s how the adjusted Telegraph rankings read with annual wages in NZ$:
1. Dan Carter (New Zealand) Racing Metro: $2m
Carter will become the world’s highest-paid player after agreeing to join big-spending Racing Métro following next year’s World Cup
2. Matt Giteau (Australia) Toulon: $1.4m
Following interest from Racing Métro, Giteau instead signed a lucrative new contract worth $1.4m a season at Toulon in September 2014
3. Leigh Halfpenny (Wales), Toulon: $1.2m
Halfpenny left Cardiff Blues in January 2014 after agreeing a record deal with Toulon that saw him become the highest-paid Welshman of all time
4. John Afoa (New Zealand), Gloucester: $1.016m
Gloucester lured the former All Blacks prop away from Ulster with a deal he couldn’t refuse.
5. Sam Burgess (England), Bath: $1m
The rugby league star agreed a switch of codes in February 2014 after Bath agree to pay $1m to release the Englishman from South Sydney.
6. Jonathan Sexton (Ireland), Racing Metro: $988,000
Sexton is the man Carter will replace and the Irishman will return to Leinster at the end of the season.
7. Bryan Habana (South Africa), Toulon: $949,200
Following spells at Golden Lions, Blue Bulls, Western Province and Stormers the powerful wing settled at Toulon where he earns almost $1m a year.
8. Morgan Parra (France), Clermont-Auvergne: $872,000
Parra is the highest-paid French player in the world and remains a darling to the French media and public.
9. Thierry Dusautoir (France), Toulouse: $816,240
Now in the twilight of his career, the 33-year-old flanker has been linked with a move to Leicester – where he can expect to take a pay cut.
10. Jamie Roberts (Wales), Racing Metro: $760,000
Though earning a tidy sum of money at Racing Métro, the centre is rumoured to be heading back to Wales where he is expected to rejoin Cardiff Blues
