All Blacks, Black Ferns and Super players in line for pay raise as New Zealand Rugby revenue climbs
Sunday, 14 December 2025
Talks are ongoing between NZ Rugby and the NZRPA.
NZR sponsorship revenue has increased by almost 100% in seven years.
Competition for players from overseas clubs ad the NRL remains high.
New Zealand players across the All Blacks, Black Ferns, Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Aupiki are in line for pay rises in coming years as New Zealand Rugby’s rising revenue pours more money into player payment pool used to retain talent.
As the year ends, NZ Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association (NZRPA) remain locked in talks about a new collective employment agreement, but crucially the Sunday Star-Times understands that a renegotiation of the 36.56% players currently get from “player generated revenue” is not on the table.
Player generated revenue is effectively what NZ Rugby earns from broadcasting, sponsorship and licensing revenue and match days, and represents the majority of income received by NZ Rugby each year.
Read more:
While NZ Rugby recorded an overall loss of $19.5 million in 2024 due in part to the costs associated with delivering its digital strategy and currency hedge losses, it has retained its ability to drive revenue - particularly through increased sponsorships.
As a result - and despite the All Blacks and Black Ferns on-field challenges - players in New Zealand are in line for better contracts as player generated revenue is forecast to increase.
In particular, 2028 is expected to be a bumper year for NZ Rugby, as the organisation is expecting a significant increase from major sponsorship deals that expire at the end of 2027.
While it would appear to be incongruous that All Blacks and Black Ferns are in line for better deals in the wake of a historic loss to the Springboks and a disappointing Rugby World Cup campaign, respectively, the Star-Times understands that NZ Rugby and the NZRPA remain aligned about the crucial importance of the player payment pool as a talent retention device.
New Zealand players continue to be wooed with more lucrative offers overseas, while the cashed-up NRL has made no secret of the fact that it wants to take on rugby in New Zealand.
In particular, there is a desire from NZ Rugby to make Super Rugby Aupiki offers more appealing in the face of direct competition from the NRLW.
The player payment pool is an exhaustive list of distributions to players, ranging from All Blacks retainers to Kiwisaver and insurance contributions.
But the big-ticket items remain the All Blacks retainers and assembly fees and the Super Rugby retainers to pay players in the five New Zealand teams.
Any rise in player generated revenue will therefore be reflected in more money going to pay the country’s best players.
Total NZ Rugby revenue is expected to be around $290m next year, boosted by an explosion in sponsorship money over recent times.
In 2024, NZ Rugby brought in $126m through sponsorship and licensing - in 2018 that figure stood at $68m.
That growth - an almost 100% increase in seven years - has allowed NZ Rugby and the NZRPA to pursue their agreed strategy of keeping most, if not all, of their best players in New Zealand.
That continues to be a bedrock principle in the partnership between the two organisations, and the returns of Richie Mo’unga and Leicester Fainga’anuku to New Zealand indicate that appealing financial packages - and the lure of the All Blacks jersey - are still being put in front of elite players.
There are set to be more talks between NZ Rugby and the NZRPA on the collective employment agreement before Christmas, but a deal is unlikely to be finalised imminently.
Outgoing NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson is in his last week in the job, so the work will then come under the responsibility of interim chief executive Steve Lancaster or the next full-time chief executive.
The Star-Times understands that key role won’t be filled by Six Nations boss Tom Harrison, however.
The Englishman was previously reported to be one of the front-runners to replace Robinson, but it is understood that he has withdrawn from contention.