What’s €4,000-a-week between friends…
Despite the rumour mill suggesting that Jonny Sexton was set to be the best paid player in French rugby, Racing Metro’s new No 10 doesn’t have that honour.
Instead it is another Heineken Cup winning fly-half, Toulon’s Jonny Wilkinson, who is the top earner in the Top 14.
A report in Le Journal du Dimanche, reported on ESPN today, puts the former England man on a cool €56,000 a month. That is four grand a month, or €1,000 a week more than Sexton, who will earn €52,000 a month, roughly €625,000 a year.
Wilkinson’s Toulon teammate, Bryan Habana, is third on the list with €50k a month hitting the Springbok’s account, while Morgan Parra (€46k) and Thierry Dusautoir (€41k) round out the top five.
Of the top 10, eight play for either Toulon or Racing Metro, with only Parra (Clermont) and Dusautoir (Toulouse) bucking the trend.
The average Top 14 player earned €14,300 a month last season but the paper reports that they expect that figure to fall a little this season. Still, nice money if you can get it.
The piece won’t make very comfortable reading for the money men at the IRFU either we suspect…
