While players who are Springbok stars are always well compensated the total amounts they take home can vary pretty wildly.
Most rugby players rely heavily on the money they receive from their club rather than from a central contract.
As such, the top-earning Springboks are players who have gone abroad particularly to high-paying leagues like the Premiership, Top 14 and Japan’s Top League.
What does a Springbok rugby player earn?
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What does a Springbok rugby player earn is a question akin to how long is a piece of string.
The players on the lower end of the pay spectrum would expect to be taking home somewhere in the region of R500,000 while any player involved in the Rugby World Cup win will be in for a massive boost in pay.
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The highest earning Springboks on the other hand can make as much as R32 million per year.
SA Rugby has not made public the figure that is paid to players in match fees but that is paid at a fixed rate agreed by players ahead of turning out.
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What can South African teams spend on players
South Africa’s United Rugby Championship teams have a salary cap that was raised from R71 million to R85 million recently.
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In a bid to encourage big stars to return to South African rugby the franchises have been allowed to sign four marquee players over and above their cap.
Some franchises also arrange additional sponsorship or endorsement deals to attract players with the Sharks understood to have arrangements in place to ensure that the likes of Eben Eztebeth earn amounts comparable to big name players overseas.
These measures have helped the URC teams stay competitive in the player market even if South African players still move abroad at fairly high rates.
