Toulouse lead Top 14 salary cap table at €13.8m as LNR reveals 2026/27 figures

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby has released the official salary cap figures for all 14 clubs ahead of the 2026/27 Top 14 season, with reigning champions Stade Toulousain holding the largest budget at €13.8 million. The base cap sits at €11.1 million, but clubs earn additional allowances for every player released to the French national 15s and 7s squads.

Toulouse’s figure is the highest in the competition by a considerable margin, reflecting the club’s 15 players selected for Les Bleus’ 15-a-side squad and one for the 7s. Champions Cup holders Union Bordeaux Bègles rank second at €12.72 million, boosted by nine international call-ups including Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey. RC Toulon complete the top three at €12.18 million, having contributed six players to Fabien Galthié’s setup.

The gap between Toulouse and the three clubs at the foot of the table — Castres Olympique, USA Perpignan, and RC Vannes — stands at €2.7 million. Those three sides, having supplied no players to the senior 15s, operate at the base cap of €11.1 million.

The LNR also announced two structural changes to the system. From the 2027/28 season, the compensation model will shift to a diminishing-returns structure, meaning clubs that supply a high volume of international players will receive proportionally less per additional player. The aim is to compress the financial gap between heavy contributors to the national squad and those with fewer internationals on their books. Under the revised formula, Toulouse’s cap this season would have been approximately €13.5 million rather than €13.8 million.

Looking further ahead, the LNR confirmed the minimum salary cap will rise to €11.3 million from the 2029/30 season, representing a gradual upward trajectory for the league as a whole.

Full 2026/27 Top 14 salary cap figures