British & Irish Lions most valuable XV worth nearly £8m and features five England players

The most valuable XV of players included in Warren Gatland's British & Irish Lions squad is worth almost £8m, according to The Rugby Paper.

Using their list of the highest-paid rugby players, we've put together the highest-paid per season Lions XV, which would be worth a stunning £7,765,000.

15. Stuart Hogg (Exeter Chiefs/Scotland) - £550,000: The fullback has spent nine seasons with Glasgow and established himself as one of the most exciting broken-field runners in world rugby before joining Exeter Chiefs.

11. Liam Williams (Scarlets/Wales) - £400,000 - Wales Online revealed that the wideman was set for a bumper payday when he returned to the Welsh region from Saracens in 2020.

13. Dan Biggar (Northampton/Wales) - £600,000: Moved to the centre position to accommodate him in this team. Because he's won over sixty caps, the Northampton Saints playmaker is able to earn higher wages in England, whilst still playing for his country and raking in handsome match fees.

12. Owen Farrell (Saracens/England) – £750k: The centre will remain at the club that he has called ‘home’ since the age of 14 until at least 2022, earning himself a hefty pay-rise in the process. His new deal means he will now earn in excess of £750,000 a season, bringing him in line with some of the highest-paid players in the world.

10. Finn Russell (Racing 92/Scotland) - £850,000: A huge pay-rise from the Parisians in 2020 convinced the fly-half to stay with Russell now reportedly earning £850,000 per season for the next three years, which makes him the highest-paid British rugby player.

9. Conor Murray (Munster/Ireland) - £565,000: The 29-year-old Limerick native has played the entirety of his club career at home province Munster since making his debut in 2010, and has established himself as a pivotal performer in Joe Schmidt's Ireland side over the same period.

3. Tadhg Furlong (Leinster/Ireland) - £530,000: The powerhouse has recently signed a one-year contract extension with the IRFU on the same money as his previous deal. Widely regarded as one of the world's best tight-heads, Furlong, 28, has made 49 Ireland appearances and was named on his second Lions tour last week.

4. Maro Itoje (Saracens/England) - £825,000: Signed a new deal last year that was reportedly between £750,000 and £1 million. He is widely regarded as the best lock in the world, with the salary to match.

5. Alun Wyn Jones (Ospreys/Wales) - £450,000: The lock has made a world record 157 Test match appearances for Wales and the Lions. He first played for Wales in 2006 and has been part of five Six Nations title-winning campaigns and three Grand Slams, in addition to helping his country reach two World Cup semi-finals.