Kieran Read's men will secure a $150,000 bonus if they win the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Photo / Getty Images
Kieran Read's men will secure a $150,000 bonus if they win the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Photo / Getty Images
Victorious All Blacks will each receive a $150,000 pay day if they're successful in defending the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
And should the Kieran Read-captained side reach the final, but fail to win, they will be paid $35,000.
The payments are included in the 197-page Collective Employment Agreement betweenNew Zealand Rugby and the New Zealand Rugby Players' Association.
Former All Black prop Wyatt Crockett – part of the 2015 World Cup-winning team that each pocketed a $150,000 bonus – said although the potential payment would be "deserved and well earned", he said it wouldn't be a motivating factor for the men in black.
Instead winning the Webb Ellis Cup for a third successive time would be.
"There is so much that goes into winning a Rugby World Cup. Money comes and goes, but what doesn't is that trophy," Crockett told the Herald on Sunday.
"You can always say that you have won a World Cup and that is very special for myself and the guys.
"This World Cup is going to be incredibly tough and the motivation is to get your name and your team into history – a three-peat would be massive for the boys. As a player you want to be a player who has gone out there and won a World Cup."
Although some of his team-mates splashed out after winning in 2015, Crockett revealed he hadn't made any extravagant purchases.
"I know some of the guys definitely treated themselves to toys and stuff after the World Cup . . . there may have been the odd classic car or things they had always wanted," the 71-test veteran said.
"For me, it was a pretty boring what I did. I paid off some debt and I knew my career was coming to an end so I needed to be wise with my money."
Players' Association chief executive Rob Nichol said he believed some members of the 2015 team weren't aware of the $150,000 bonus when they held the Webb Ellis Cup aloft.
He said the bonus was "appreciated" by players, but not a key motivating factor.
All Blacks were well-versed when it came to budgeting advice, and Nichol said issues such as how to handle finances played a big part in the education offered to the country's professional players.
On top of any bonuses they secure at the World Cup, team members will also be paid $7500 a week from the time the men in black go into camp.
Members of the All Blacks' victorious 2011 World Cup team received a $100,000 bonus. Based on inflation that figure equates to $122,299 in 2019.
Kieran Read's men will secure a $150,000 bonus if they win the Rugby World Cup in Japan. Photo / Photosport.nz
The Collective Employment Agreement also reveals members of the All Blacks have to each autograph up to 600 merchandise items. In a non-World Cup year that figure drops to 350.
The bonus awaiting an All Blacks team able to secure the World Cup is dwarfed by other performance-based payments for leading sports individuals and teams.
Kiwi motorsport great Scott Dixon last year received $1.5 million in bonuses after winning his fifth IndyCar title.
Singapore's sole gold medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, swimmer Joseph Schooling, received a $1.01m bonus, while Taiwan weightlifter Hsu Shu-ching scored a $864,935 bonus for winning gold at the same games.
Members of France's victorious 2018 football World Cup-winning side received more than $472,000 for their efforts.
England players would have received a bonus of up to $313,000 had they been successful in winning this year's Six Nations tournament; which was eventually won by Wales.
The Herald revealed last week that New Zealand Rugby had been offered in excess of $1m from Kashiwa City officials to have a pre-cup training camp in the city; which is 50km northeast of Tokyo.
It is understood rugby bosses have accepted the lucrative offer.
What to do with $150,000
• Fancy wheels: A 2019 Land Rover Discovery Td6 HSE Luxury model will cost you around $149,900. Features a digital TV so passengers can watch replays of the big games and seven seats; so heaps of room to take the Webb Ellis Cup for a victory road-trip.
• Luxury digs: A one-night stay in The Sky Villa at Las Vegas' Palms Hotel will set you back $150,000. The suite includes two master bedrooms, a salt relaxation room, massage tables and a cantilevered jacuzzi which overlooks the bright lights of "Sin City".
• Life on the ice: If players want to chill out post a tournament triumph in style, tickets on an 11-day package offered by Eclipse Travel to the Antarctic Peninsula start from $26,559.
• Golden swing: The All Blacks are no strangers to golf courses. So what better way to celebrate a World Cup win by shelling out $117,692 on the world's most expensive set of golf clubs; each of the Honma's Beres S-06 5-star clubs feature heads plated with platinum and 24-carat gold.
• Track side: Te Akau Racing offers shareholdings in a range of potential horse racing winners, with some remaining stakes going for up to $50,000.
• Black out: Those wanting to make sure all their friends and family are decked out in All Blacks gear could buy 750 replicas of the 2018-19 kit design worn by players, which retail for $200.
