Lions squad to share record £3m jackpot if they win All Blacks series

Details of fees and bonuses revealed as Gatland finalises squad for New Zealand tour

The British and Irish Lions squad will share a record jackpot of £2.96 million should Warren Gatland’s side record a first series victory over world champions New Zealand since 1971, The Talk of

Rugby can reveal. Of that figure, each player will receive a bonus of £10,000 if the Lions win two of the three Tests, on top of a tour fee of £70,000 for every player who remains in the squad for the full tour.

It is understood that details of the agreed tour payments, including the tour win bonus, were included in commercial contracts that were sent out to more than 150 players last week ahead of the squad announcement next Wednesday.

With Warren Gatland, the Lions head coach (below), set to announce a squad of 37 players, the combined tour fee will be £2,590,000, with another £370,000 to be paid out if the tourists record a historic series victory over the All Blacks, taking the overall total to £2,960,000.

While the tour fee represents a 40 per cent rise from the £50,000 the players received during the 2013 tour of Australia, the win bonus remains roughly in line with what Sam Warburton’s side received for defeating the Wallabies 2-1 in the Test series. While the tour fee represents a major increase from four years ago, the average of £7,000 per match for the 10-game tour is less than a third of what the current England players receive for playing a Test match, which is worth £22,000 per game. Still, the soaring commercial value of the Lions is not in doubt. In 2009, the players’ fee was £38,000 and £22,000 for the last tour of New Zealand in 2005. It is understood that the players who have received a contract – they arrived both as an email attachment and a hard copy by post last week – must sign it and return it to the Lions before the squad announcement to guarantee their consideration for selection. A significant number have yet to do so. The contract includes insurance details and asks for players to declare any commercial commitments because once they officially go into camp on May 14 – apart from those involved in end-ofseason finals – they will be able to undertake appearances only with official Lions sponsors.

Players will get a bonus of £10,000 if the Lions win two Tests