Cap Rankings

The pecking order,
by cap midpoint.

Squads ranked by estimated total salary spend across published contracts. Bars show the low to high editorial range for each squad. Cap figures are not officially published; everything here is sourced editorial estimate.

Combined league range

$34m - $82m

25 squads

Most expensive squad

Hurricanes

mid $4.9m

Cheapest squad

Blues Women

mid $444k

Super Rugby Pacific

6 teams

  1. 01

    Hurricanes

    51 contracts

    $4.9m

    $3.3m - $8.4m

  2. 02

    Chiefs

    50 contracts

    $4.9m

    $3.2m - $8.2m

  3. 03

    Crusaders

    50 contracts

    $4.8m

    $3.2m - $8.2m

  4. 04

    Blues

    50 contracts

    $4.8m

    $3.2m - $8.2m

  5. 05

    Highlanders

    48 contracts

    $4.6m

    $3.2m - $8.1m

  6. 06

    Moana Pasifika

    38 contracts

    $4.0m

    $2.9m - $7.4m

NPC

14 teams

  1. 01

    North Harbour

    47 contracts

    $1.5m

    $966k - $2.2m

  2. 02

    Auckland

    47 contracts

    $1.4m

    $945k - $2.2m

  3. 03

    Hawke's Bay

    41 contracts

    $1.3m

    $861k - $2.0m

  4. 04

    Manawatu

    40 contracts

    $1.3m

    $840k - $1.9m

  5. 05

    Southland

    41 contracts

    $1.3m

    $840k - $1.9m

  6. 06

    Northland

    40 contracts

    $1.2m

    $819k - $1.9m

  7. 07

    Counties Manukau

    46 contracts

    $1.2m

    $834k - $1.8m

  8. 08

    Bay of Plenty

    41 contracts

    $1.2m

    $798k - $1.8m

  9. 09

    Canterbury

    37 contracts

    $1.2m

    $756k - $1.7m

  10. 10

    Otago

    35 contracts

    $1.1m

    $735k - $1.7m

  11. 11

    Taranaki

    37 contracts

    $1.0m

    $684k - $1.5m

  12. 12

    Waikato

    37 contracts

    $992k

    $651k - $1.5m

  13. 13

    Tasman

    35 contracts

    $948k

    $639k - $1.4m

  14. 14

    Wellington

    28 contracts

    $788k

    $534k - $1.2m

Black Ferns

1 team

  1. 01

    Black Ferns

    42 contracts

    $3.4m

    $2.3m - $6.3m

Super Rugby Aupiki

4 teams

  1. 01

    Hurricanes Poua

    30 contracts

    $516k

    $352k - $788k

  2. 02

    Matatu

    30 contracts

    $492k

    $344k - $736k

  3. 03

    Chiefs Manawa

    29 contracts

    $491k

    $342k - $735k

  4. 04

    Blues Women

    30 contracts

    $444k

    $328k - $632k

Franchise-paid only. All Black and Black Fern central retainers and Test fees are paid by NZR and not counted toward team spend. All Blacks' Provincial Union contracts are excluded from team cap totals — the union doesn't pay during AB duty. Black Ferns on Aupiki squads are included at a small participation contribution, reflecting the hub retainer that sits alongside the central NZR deal. Per the 2020 CBA cl 56.3 the Super Rugby Component is capped at $195k per player. See methodology.