Maintaining financial stability throughout your life could be difficult as a professional rugby player. Although you might have a steady income while you are playing, you will retire eventually, and your earnings will likely fall.
There is a risk that you could be injured and unable to play too, meaning you lose your main source of income overnight.
That is why finding additional income streams could be so beneficial. Many rugby players use their image rights to generate more income during and after their playing career.
Read on to learn how you could use image rights to boost your financial security.
There are many ways to licence your image and earn additional income
As a successful rugby player with a high profile, there are many ways you could licence your name, face, likeness, or voice.
For example, you might earn an income from:
- Media appearances
- Sponsorships and endorsements with sports companies and other brands
- Photographs and signatures
- Video games
- Payments from a club for using your image.
Some of these options could be very lucrative and may provide supplemental income during your playing career, potentially making it easier to save and invest for the future.
Additionally, you could continue licensing your image after you retire from rugby, so you can maintain financial stability while you transition into a second career.
That said, if you do decide to use image rights to generate an income, it is important to consider the tax implications.
It could be more tax-efficient to create an image rights company
Many professional sports people create an image rights company because it could be more tax-efficient than taking the income directly.
This is because you will pay Corporation Tax at 25% on earnings through a company.
Meanwhile, you pay Income Tax at your marginal rate on direct earnings. This means that, in 2025/26, you would pay:
- 20% if you are a basic-rate taxpayer
- 40% if you are a higher-rate taxpayer
- 45% if you are an additional-rate taxpayer.
As such, you could initially pay less tax on your earnings if you create an image rights company. That said, it is important to make sure that you understand your tax position and operate within the law.
For example, an image rights company may only be legitimate if you have several income streams from licensing your image. Yet, if you only received one payment from a club for using your image HMRC may challenge your tax position, and you might pay Income Tax rather than Corporation Tax.
Additionally, there may be a limit on the amount you can earn from a club for licensing your image rights. This varies but often only 10% to 15% of your earnings from the club you play for can come from image rights.
You may want to seek professional advice when setting up an image rights company to ensure you do not accidentally break the rules and trigger an unexpected tax charge.
You will need to decide on the most suitable ways to extract wealth from an image rights company
When creating a company and earning an income from licensing your image, it is important to decide how and when you will eventually extract that wealth.
There are several options you might consider.
Salary
You might decide to draw a regular salary from the business, either while you are still playing or after you hang up your boots.
If you choose this option, you will pay Income Tax at your marginal rate on your salary. This could mean you face a significant tax bill if you are already earning from playing rugby and take a salary from your image rights company on top.
Conversely, if you wait until you retire from playing before taking a salary from the business, you may be able to draw a smaller amount and remain in a lower tax bracket.
Additionally, your salary is a business expense, so you can typically offset this amount against your Corporation Tax bill.
Dividends
As well as drawing a salary from the company, you could take dividends – a portion of the profits earned by a business, paid to shareholders.
One potential benefit of this is that you typically pay tax on dividends at a lower rate than income. You also have a tax-free Dividend Allowance of £500.
In 2025/26, any dividends that exceed this allowance will be taxed at:
- 8.75% if you are a basic-rate taxpayer
- 33.75% if you are a higher-rate taxpayer
- 39.35% if you are an additional-rate taxpayer.
You may use a combination of salary and dividends to extract wealth tax-efficiently from your image rights company.
Pension contributions
Another option is to pay into a pension directly from your image rights company. There are several potential benefits to this.
First, you can build wealth to fund your lifestyle when you eventually retire from your second career. Contributing to your pension earlier in life could mean your savings have more time to grow.
Additionally, pension contributions are considered an allowable business expense, and so you will not pay Corporation Tax or National Insurance contributions (NICs) on these funds.
However, you will not normally be able to access wealth in a pension until you are 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). You may need to consider this when deciding if pension contributions are a suitable choice for you.
We can help you manage income from licensing your image rights
Image rights can be an effective way to boost your financial security during and after your rugby career. However, there are many potential challenges to consider, especially in relation to your tax position.
We can discuss your financial aims with you and help you determine the most suitable way to manage income from licensing image rights, and how and when to extract the wealth.
Get in touch
If you need support with licensing your image rights, please do get in touch with DBL Asset Management.
Email enquiries@dbl-am.com or call 01625 529 499 to speak to us today.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.