Match fee comparison: Proteas, Springboks, Bafana

This week some interesting news came to light that provided a breakdown breakdown of earnings and salaries for Springbok and SA Rugby players, and it does raise the question – how does this compare to the Proteas and Bafana Bafana? 

To recap, the SA Rugby Industry Collective Agreement that provided an explanation of minimum wages, also revealed that Springbok players receive a match fee of almost R120,000. Meanwhile, the minimum monthly salary for a player representing a South African union in the United Rugby Championship is just shy of R40,000.

So how do Springbok salaries fit in with the ‘big three’ of the Proteas and Bafana?

According to some of the latest figures that are accessible, it would appear that the Springboks get almost double the amount of money per international fixture compared to Bafana Bafana stars.

Data from 2023 suggests that Bafana players were earning around R60,000 for a win and R30,000 for a draw, although this is expected to have increased somewhat by now.

In 2023, CSA became the third cricket board to announce equal match-fee pay for both the men and women cricketers, and it was reported that Proteas players earned just over R82,000 per Test match, over R22,000 for a One-Day International and about R15,000 per T20 match.

These figures excluded win bonuses, but it does still highlight how the Springboks lead the way from the ‘big three’ match fee, and of course there are various other avenues of earnings.

Where SA Rugby does make a contribution, this is over and above each player’s income from their club contracts, commercial partnerships and endorsement deals.

The agreement, which covers the period 2024 to 2027, indicates the percentage covered by Saru (in brackets).

• Springbok match-day squad: R118,197.93 per match (fully funded)
• Springbok non-playing squad: R59,539 per week/R8,505.57 per day (fully funded)
• Springbok training squad (released to province): R8,505.57 per day (fully funded)
• PONI (Players of National Interest) player minimum salary: R11,985 per month (partially funded via pool)
• Semi-professional player minimum salary: R6,790 per month (not specified)
• Development player minimum salary: No set minimum
• Springbok Sevens minimum annual retainer: R353,062 per year
• Sevens tournament win bonus (range): R6,175 – R37,055 per player
• Domestic franchise player minimum salary (URC/Europe): R39,575 per month (not specified)
• Currie Cup First Division match fee: R2,268 per match (not specified)
• Currie Cup Premier Division match fee: R3,394 per match (not specified)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ALL THESE FIGURES?

Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211.

Subscribe to The South African website’s newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.