England’s women’s rugby stars are in talks with the RFU over improved contract terms after sealing World Cup and more Six Nations glory so far this season.
John Mitchell’s Red Roses are by far and away the female game’s dominant team.
In September, they lifted the Women’s World Cup in front of a sold-out, 81,885 crowd at Twickenham’s Allianz Stadium. They followed that by last week sealing a fifth consecutive Women’s Six Nations Grand Slam and eighth consecutive Championship title. In the process, they extended their winning run to 38 matches.
England’s top 25 men’s players see the majority of their salaries paid by their clubs, with the rest topped by RFU contributions through enhanced elite player squad (EPS) deals.
For the women, it is different.
They can currently earn up to circa £50,000-a-year in basic salary from the RFU, with smaller contributions made by their club employers in the Premiership Women’s Rugby.
The Red Roses who were part of head coach Mitchell’s World Cup squad each received a bonus of £20,000 for winning the tournament.
It means that in successful seasons such as this one, players can earn close to £80,000-a-year – with other sponsorship deals and endorsements on top.
England won their fifth successive Six Nations title after completing the Grand Slam against France last weekend
While the nature of contracting is complicated and there is no one-size-fits-all policy, the majority of England’s women’s current three-year contracts expire in June.
That is why the negotiation of fresh terms is currently underway. Team England Ltd, who have taken over England player contracting from the Rugby Players’ Association, are in discussions with the RFU, with all signs pointing to a positive resolution in the coming weeks.
The talks have not taken place as a result of England’s immense success and would always have been held at this point.
The RFU does not comment on the size of its deals, but new women’s contracts will involve a pay raise given not only England’s on-field success, but the huge growth in popularity of women’s rugby in the country. The payments to women’s players still pale in comparison to men’s earnings in rugby.
Steve Borthwick’s England men’s squad are paid in the region of £22,000 per Test appearance, if they are not on an EPS contract. Those deals are worth a basic £150,000-a-year. There is an acceptance among all parties that with England women now attracting large crowds, delivering unprecedented on-field success and their marketability growing, they are deserving of more money.
But at the same time, with women’s rugby still not at a stage where it is making profits, there is a balance to be struck which is at the heart of the negotiations.
The RFU sees its investment into the women’s game as vital to the future of English rugby, but it has lost a total of £18.4million on it over the last four years.
Further losses are forecast for the years ahead, with the RFU hoping to break even on women’s rugby by the early 2030’s.
The reason for the losses is due to lower prices on ticket sales and lower income from sponsorship and broadcast in comparison to the men’s game.
For example, the average cost of a ticket to watch England’s women against Ireland in the Six Nations was £15. For the corresponding men’s fixture, it was £100.
The RFU is the world’s leading investor in the women’s game having also ploughed £24m into the PWR over the past 10 years. In order to try and capitalise on England’s success and minimise losses, the RFU is slowly looking at increasing the prices of Red Roses tickets, though they will still be far below those for men’s matches.
