Kyle Sinckler got a pay rise when he moved from Harlequins to the Bristol Bears.
This article looks at Kyle Sinckler’s salary. We’ll examine his current rugby contract, and what factors led to his ability to negotiate his high value.
We’ll look at how he compares with teammates at his club and with the players in the same position in other Premiership clubs.
What Is Kyle Sinckler’s Current Salary?
Kyle Sinckler’s salary is currently about £500K at the Bristol Bears. This is over four times the average Premiership salary.
Sinckler signed with the Bristol club in 2020 on a contract up to mid-2022.
He is still young for a prop and should continue to negotiate contracts of high value.
To put his age into context, Sinckler was born in 1993. He is a long way away from the average retirement age for prop forwards in the Premiership, which is thirty-five.
Indeed, props are usually considered to be coming into their prime as they enter their early thirties. After all, the gradual loss of pace doesn’t affect their value as it does a winger.
Instead, the accumulated experience of the dark arts in the front row can bring a premium in value.
When Sinckler was at Harlequins, at least three Premiership clubs were chasing his signature. Bath and Sale Sharks lost out to Bristol. That kind of competition only serves to drive up a player’s price.
How Does Sinckler Compare To Other Players?
It’s worth looking at two different comparisons:
- How Kyle Sinckler compares to other players at his club.
- how Kyle Sinckler compares to other locks in England.
Let’s start with the club.
Is Kyle Sinckler the highest-paid player at the Bristol Bears?
Kyle Sinckler isn’t the highest-paid player at the club. That honour falls to Charles Piutau, who earns more than anybody else in the Premiership.
Another former All Black is a big earner with a higher salary than the tighthead prop. Steven Luatua earns about £120K more than Sinckler.
Winger Semi Radradra is also reputed to earn about £20K more per year than Sinckler.
You can read more details here:
How does Sinckler compare to other front rows in England?
Let’s hear it for the front row union, they can never be paid enough (they told me to say that).
Kyle Sinckler is in the happy position of earning more than the top-earning loosehead props in the Premiership.
His England teammates, Joe Marler and Mako Vunipola are a few years older than him. The extra years often add value to a prop forward, but both men earn less than Sinckler.
Sinckler is a little older than Ellis Genge, and his contract is worth a considerable £175K more per year than the up-and-coming loosehead.
You can read more details here:
What Factors Contribute To Sinckler’s High Salary?
In our overview of salaries in English rugby, we estimate that the average salary in the Premiership is about £120K per year.
That level of pay can be expected by the many experienced players in the Premiership who never quite made it to international level.
But Sinckler got his first cap for England in 2016. He has accumulated over fifty caps since then.
England
Sinckler was twenty-three when he came off the bench for his test debut against the Springboks in the 2016 Autumn internationals. That is a baptism of fire for a prop forward.
He had his ups and downs in an England shirt but was the first choice tighthead through the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
British & Irish Lions
Sinckler was selected for the 2017 British and Irish tour to New Zealand as a bit of a surprise choice by Warren Gatland. The prop only had two seasons of international rugby under his belt.
However, he came off the bench to put in effective performances in all three tests against the All Blacks.
When 2021 came around, he was a somewhat surprising omission from Lions squad announcement. Gatland had referred to him as a “timebomb”, seemingly displeased by unnecessary penalties that Sinckler tended to give away on the field.
But the young prop also had some disciplinary issues off the field on the New Zealand tour.
Rugby has a funny way of making coaches change their minds. When Ireland’s Andrew Porter had to withdraw from the squad for the 2021 tour, Sinckler was on the plane to South Africa.
Once again, Sinckler came off the bench for all tests in the series.
This kind of experience at elite level gives him plenty of leverage in his contract negotiations.
Position
Position on the field is another factor that plays a major part in player salaries.
Esportif are sports agents who publish statistics for which positions earn the most in the Premiership. This is the list in descending order:
- Flyhalf
- Fullback
- Scrumhalf
- Locks (either 4 or 5)
- Tighthead prop
- Centres (12 or 13)
- Blindside flanker
- Wings
- Loosehead prop
- Openside flanker
- Eight
- Hooker
As you can see in the list above, tighthead props are valued more highly than looseheads in the Premiership.
This corresponds with our finding that Sinckler earns more than loosehead props in England.
If you’re not sure of the difference between these two positions, check out our article on tighthead and loosehead props in Rugby Union.