Premiership's highest paid player each season from 1998 to 2024

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The Gallagher Premiership is now filled with players who earn astronomical salaries despite the games current financial crisis.

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We've identified the highest-paid Premiership player for every season since the game went professional to find out. 

To do so, we’ve undertook painstaking research to delve into newspaper archives to reveal the reported player wages.

Some seasons had multiple highest earners with players signing contracts at different times throughout the campaign but they've used the highest earner at the end of each season.

Got it? Good.

Let's take a look at the results:

1997-1998: Va’aiga Tuigamala (Newcastle Falcons) – £80,000 per season

1999-2000: Francois Pienaar (Saracens) – £85,000 per season

2000-2001: Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks) – £180,000per season

2001-2002: Martin Johnson (Leicester Tigers) – £200,000 per season

2002-2004: Jonny WIlkinson (England) – £250,000per season

2005-2007: Lawrence Dallaglio (Wasps) – £300,000 per season

2007-2010: Carl Hayman (Newcastle Falcons) – £350,000 per season

2010-11: Mike Tindall (Gloucester) – £380,000

2011-2013: Toby Flood (Leicester Tigers) – £400,000

2012-2014: Chris Robshaw (Harlequins) – £420,000

2014- 2015: Sam Burgess (Bath) – £500,000 per season

2016-2017: Louis PIcamoles (Northampton Saints) – £500,000 per season

2017-2018: Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers) – £510,000 per season

2018-2022: Charles Piutau (Bristol Bears) – £1,000,000 per season

2023 – : Finn Russell (Bath Rugby) – £1,000,000 per season

2024 – : Finn Russell (Bath Rugby) – £1,000,000 per season

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