Leading professional rugby players in England "reacted with incredulity" on Wednesday to the news that the investigation into a possible breach of the
salary cap by Saracens "had been officially suspended at the highest level," according to Owen Slot of the LONDON TIMES. It
emerged that one reason the clubs had voted for the suspension "was
because Saracens had cautioned" that it may test the legality of the
salary-cap system in the European Court of Justice. Rugby Players' Association CEO Damian Hopley said that feedback from his members "had been heavy, that there was a sense of 'huge frustration' and that 'the news has been met with incredulity.'" Hopley: "Everyone buys into the principle of the salary cap, we recognize its worth and the purpose it is serving for English rugby. So there is a sense that people might be cheating. We've had comments from leading players in the Premiership that breaking the salary cap is akin to being on the field with someone who is taking performance-enhancing supplements. It's just not fair: either you play by the rules or you don't." The RPA's endorsement of the salary-cap system is soon to be recognized formally in a "new collective agreement that the players are signing with the Premiership and the Rugby Football Union." At the same time, however, the clubs are "in the process of an in-depth review of the salary cap." One proposal for next season is that "instead of a points deduction for a salary-cap breach, there will be a 'luxury tax.'" In the U.S., MLB has a luxury tax whereby "those teams whose combined player salaries rise above the predetermined guideline level have to pay a tax." That tax could "then be redistributed among the other clubs" (LONDON TIMES, 4/30).
