#1. Maro Itoje (Saracens) – £800,000
England’s Maro Itoje has won an impressive five Premiership titles and three European titles with his club Saracens – so maybe he’s worth his salary of £800,000.
Mind you, that’s what his former teammate Owen Farrell was paid by the club before his money-spinning move to France, so there’s always the chance of even bigger earnings in the future.
A Saracens academy product, Maro Itoje was a new member of the England squad for the 2016 Six Nations and has since gone on to establish himself as a regular starter.
In 2014, Maro captained England U20 to victory at the Junior World Championship final. Two years later he made his debut against Italy as part of a remarkable run which saw him on the winning side in 26 out of 27 games for club and country.
Maro made three Test appearances for the British & Irish Lions against New Zealand in 2017 and was part of the squad that reached the 2019 Rugby World Cup final. Born to Nigerian parents, he was schooled at St George’s, Harpenden, the same school as Owen Farrell and George Ford. His cousin is Bath front row and fellow England squad member Beno Obano.
A mainstay in England squads over the past years, Itoje recently featured in England’s 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign before retaining his place in Steve Borthwick’s squad ahead of the Guinness Men’s Six Nations 2024