Leicester Tigers have been fined £309,841.06 but avoided any points deduction after a Premiership Rugby investigation found they had failed to comply with salary cap regulations.
It was discovered that the league leaders had entered into an arrangement whereby a third-party company made payments to the image rights companies of Leicester players.
The payments that were made over the four seasons from 2016-17 to 2019-20 should have been declared as part of part of their salary cap, but they were not disclosed.
Leicester have been spared greater sanction due to the salary cap being exceeded by less than the ‘overrun’ limit.
It is when this ceiling, which ranges from £325,000 to £350,000 each season, is breached that formal charges are brought.
Leicester’s highest ‘overrun’ was £147,750.00 in 2016-17 and their total across the four seasons was £391,941.06.
There will be no further disciplinary process or appeal after the Tigers accepted the outcome of the investigation.
In addition to the bulk of the fine, which is termed the ‘overrun’ tax and is calculated according to the amount of the overrun, Leicester have been fined £17,900 for failing to disclose information about the arrangements.
Only Saracens have been fined more after they were relegated two seasons ago for repeated salary cap breaches.
Premiership Rugby has acted using the strengthened powers introduced following a review of the salary cap regulations in 2020 that was conducted in the wake of the Saracens case.
“The review of salary cap regulations provided stronger powers to monitor spending and investigate possible breaches of the cap in past seasons,” salary cap director Andrew Rogers said.
“Leicester have cooperated with my investigation and accepted the findings, which allows us to apply the sanctions detailed in the regulations.
“While we are satisfied that the arrangements which resulted in the overspend have been brought to an end, we will continue to assess all spending as part of our ongoing monitoring process at every club.”
* Leicester exceeded the salary by the following amounts as a result of the previously undisclosed payments now being counted as salary:
2016-17: £147,750.00 (Senior Salary Cap £6,000,000; Overrun limit £325,000)2017-18: £89,718.05 (Senior Salary Cap £6,400,000; Overrun limit £350,000)2018-19: £55,886.69 (Senior Salary Cap £6,400,000; Overrun limit £350,000)2019-20: £98,586.32 (Senior Salary Cap £6,400,000; Overrun limit £350,000)
* The breakdown of the ‘overrun tax’ on Leicester is:
2016-17: £122,750.002017-18: £64,718.052018-19: £30,886.692019-20: £73,586.32
