Average player income in Premiership in 2020-21 just under 144,000 pounds -report

The average player income in the English Premiership in the 2020-21 season was 143,699 pounds and fly-halves were the highest-paid, a salary cap report released by the league showed on Thursday.

The report, which gave a detailed analysis of the salary cap expenditure of the 13 Premiership clubs, showed fly-halves had an average income of 175,679 pounds. Hookers were the lowest earners, at 113,115 pounds.

The salary cap for the 2020-21 season was 6.4 million pounds for clubs, most of which, the report said, cut salaries during the campaign because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The salary cap continues to be a crucial part of Premiership's strategic framework and is supported unanimously by all 13 Premiership Rugby clubs," said Chief Executive Simon Massie-Taylor.

"One of the main principles set out in the Myners Report emphasised the promotion of greater transparency to broaden and deepen visibility and scrutiny about how the salary cap operates in practice, so we are delighted to publish the first report today."