Richard Cockerill thinks England's players are worth every penny of the new deal that will see their match fees increase significantly
Players will be paid £22,000 per match from a new deal worth £20m over four years after negotiations between the Rugby Football Union and the Rugby Players' Association were concluded.
Training fees, image rights payments and squad performance bonuses are also included in the new deal, which RFU chief Ian Ritchie said last week was "a significant uplift" on the previous incarnation.
The chasm in finances will be on show this Saturday when England, their players buoyed by the new deal, take on a Fiji squad whose players are paid a mere £60 per day.
Leicester director of rugby Cockerill, who won 27 England caps, told Sky Sports News HQ: "There's lots of money being generated within the game.
"If you look at it in a pure context of what the lads generate - certainly around England income, where I think the union were £100m plus in profit the last financial year - those are the guys taking the field that the people are coming to watch, and I think they deserve every penny. They put their bodies on the line.
"If you look at that in comparison with football, when they are earning £200,000 or £300,000 a week it's pretty modest."
Fiji-born Nathan Hughes will be in England's squad after qualifying on residency grounds, and he admitted on Monday his decision to pledge allegiance to the Red Rose was motivated by financial reasons.
"I would love for Fiji to have more resources, but it is the way it is. They just have to deal with it and live on whatever they have got," Hughes said.
"It is their bread and butter. That's the decision I made - I play my rugby to support my family and put shelter over their heads."