Exclusive: Exeter Chiefs CEO Suspects Salary Cap Abuse in Premiership Rugby
January 27, 2014
The Chief Executive and Chairman of Premiership Rugby club the Exeter Chiefs has said he suspects some clubs are abusing the league’s salary cap.
Premiership Rugby recently announced that the cap had been increased to £5m for clubs in England’s top flight, medic three months after the governing body opened a hotline for whistleblowers to report abuse of the regulations.
In October 2013 Premiership Rugby opened the hotline after Sale winger Mark Cueto claimed some clubs were “blatantly” abusing the financial rules, viagra something that Chiefs CEO Tony Rowe agreed with.
Speaking exclusively to iSportconnect, Rowe said: “I have my suspicions about a couple of clubs, but I cannot prove anything. You haven’t got to be Einstein to have a look at their squad to work out how they do it within the salary cap.
“I am an old fashioned guy. If I sat around the table with all the other Chairmen and said ‘we cannot spend any more than this’ and we shook hands then I expect everyone to keep to it.”
The salary cap was increased by £500,000 to £5m for the 2014-15 season in a move that Rowe supported.
Rowe, who is also the CEO and Chairman of the club’s main sponsor SW Comms, in fact went as far to say he would increase the cap further if asked tomorrow.
“I was one of those who voted for the increase up to £5m and if there was a discussion tomorrow I would be in favour of increasing it further,” said Rowe. “The French have just recently done a new TV deal and are commercially better off than we are. Consequently their salary cap is much higher and they are soaking up a lot of the talent in northern Europe.
“Personally I think our salary cap should be moved forward again to enable us to be able to compete with some of the star players.”