Premiership rugby side Gloucester CEO Stephen Vaughan has "called for a freeze on the Premiership's salary cap" after it rises to £7M ($10M) in '17, "warning that if it continues to go up clubs would either go into unsustainable debt or the league would become uncompetitive and break up," according to Paul Rees of the London GUARDIAN. The cap rises to £6.5M ($9.5M) next season and £7M in '17-18. There is a proposal for it to go up by another £500,000 ($729,350) the year after that, which would effectively mean it was £9.5M ($14M) when "various add-ons such as credits, injury dispensation and two marquee players were taken into account." Vaughan said, "I think we have reached a crossroads as far as the salary cap is concerned. I believe the levels for the next two seasons are ones we should not go above for a very long time. ... But we have to balance the cap with revenue. If you want to pay the full cap and be sustainable as a business, it will be nigh on impossible unless you take short cuts or saddle yourself with debt." He added, "The cap does not include the wages of coaches or support staff so you can see how clubs will struggle to make ends meet." Vaughan has "canvassed the views of other clubs and there is a widespread concern that the increases in the cap have created an inflated player market, especially for English players." Vaughan: "The fear is that increases in revenue will get swallowed up by wage rises and more" (GUARDIAN, 5/18).
