French newspaper L'Equipe have released the weekly wage of Top 14 players.
Unsurprisingly, Racing 92's Dan Carter is the best paid player in the league, earning €71,000 a month. Toulon's Matt Giteau was earning €65,000 a month, with teammate Leigh Halfpenny pocketing €55,000 monthly.
Ireland international Ian Madigan earned €35,000 a month at Bordeaux for his solitary season in France. The former Leinster fly-half moves to Bristol next season.
According to @lequipe Dan Carter is top paid player in T14, pocketing €71k a month, then Giteau on €65k & Halfpenny on €55k
— gavin mortimer (@gavinmortimer7) May 19, 2017
Here are other player salaries as stated in @lequipe. Paper says it calculated them from 'diverse sources' pic.twitter.com/pDbGafkjUP
— gavin mortimer (@gavinmortimer7) May 19, 2017
French-based journalist Gavin Mortimer revealed the numbers on social media, and they show how little elite rugby stars make compared to other sports.
Carter's monthly wage pales in comparison to what Premier League footballers earn.
Earlier this year, the Daily Mail produced statistics of what each club pays their top-earning player. Hull City and Burnley both paid their top-paid star a relatively paltry £35,000 a week (compared to other clubs).
Abel Hernandez and Robbie Brady earn more in around ten days than Carter gets in a month.
Players from all over the world, earn a lot in the Top 14, but it still has a long way to go to match the earning power of the Premier League.
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