France Rugby Captain Antoine Dupont at Centre of Salary Cap Controversy Ahead of Six Nations
- France captain Antoine Dupont has reportedly com under heavy scrutiny over large payments from club sponsors as salary cap questions arise
- Toulouse’s past salary cap breaches have resurfaced amid fresh claims of undeclared contracts
- Dupont and his club plan legal action against media reports, defending the legitimacy of the payments
France captain Antoine Dupont has reportedly been pulled into a salary cap storm as the Six Nations champions prepare to take on Italy.
French sports daily L’Equipe recently exposed questionable payments made to Dupont and Toulouse teammate Anthony Jelonch, suggesting the club may have used these arrangements to skirt salary cap regulations.
Source: Getty Images
This is not Toulouse’s first brush with salary cap issues. The club was fined €50,000 in 2023 over Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe’s transfer to Toulon, who themselves faced a €70,000 penalty for “lack of transparency and cooperation.” Kolbe is now based in Japan.
What is at the centre of the investigations?
According to SA Rugby Magazine, the latest investigation centres on 3S-Alyzia, a company providing airport services including baggage handling and cargo logistics. A French newspaper L’Equipe,reports that Dupont has received roughly €1.5 million since 2017 for image rights and promotional work, while Jelonch has earned €170,000 since 2022.
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However, the newspaper could find little evidence that either player’s image was actually used or that they attended promotional events for the company. Given 3S-Alyzia’s status as a Toulouse sponsor, L’Equipe questioned whether these could be “phantom” contracts designed to inflate player earnings without affecting the salary cap.
Toulouse’s defence and legal response
Dupont, when approached about the allegations, said he could not afford to “lose energy” over the matter and confirmed that his lawyers were handling it. His lawyer, Jean Iglesias, told L’Equipe that the payments, up to €200,000 annually, were standard for a player of Dupont’s stature attending company events. Iglesias defended the fees, explaining that Dupont often appeared as guest of honour, engaging with sponsors at galas.
Source: Getty Images
Toulouse’s legal team also criticised the salary cap rules. Lawyer Bruno Cavalie described the regulations as “incoherent and illegal,” arguing that such sponsorship payments should not count toward the cap. Dupont himself has previously expressed frustration, claiming in an October interview that the cap restricted players from using their individual image rights in standard publicity contracts, calling the scrutiny “ridiculous.”
This week, L’Equipe reported that Toulouse had accepted responsibility in 2023 for failing to declare Dupont’s contract with 3S-Alyzia and had paid a fine. The club has since announced plans to lodge a defamation complaint against the newspaper. Toulouse’s history with salary cap breaches also includes the 2022 transfer of fullback Melvyn Jaminet, where the club avoided including his €450,000 release clause in cap calculations, ultimately paying €1.3 million in fines and receiving a two-point penalty.
The French rugby team has been in the spotlight in recent weeks, after one of their rugby star was hospitalised over a haert condition that forced him to retirement.
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Briefly News previously reported that a coroner disclosed the cause of death of New Zealand rugby legend Connor Garden-Bachop, who passed away in June 2024.
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Source: Briefly News
