From Sky Sports · · 3m
Henry Pollock signs Saints deal after month of drama
England star's contract negotiations with agent Eddie Hearn brought boxing-style tactics to rugby.
In brief
England star's contract negotiations with agent Eddie Hearn brought boxing-style tactics to rugby. Henry Pollock stayed at Northampton Saints on a deal worth over £400,000 a year, tripling his salary, after a public negotiation that shocked rugby's traditionally private culture. Originally reported by Sky Sports.
England star stays at Saints
Henry Pollock has signed a new multi-year contract with Northampton Saints, his boyhood club and the defending Premiership champions.
Deal worth over £400k yearly
The contract is believed to be worth more than £400,000 a year, tripling Pollock's previous salary and making him one of the highest-paid back-row players in the Premiership.
Pollock's rapid rise through rugby
Pollock burst through as a 17-year-old in 2022 and already has 13 England caps and five British and Irish Lions caps to his name.
Eddie Hearn enters rugby
Pollock became the first rugby player to join Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Talent Agency earlier this year, bringing boxing's agent model to the sport.
Hearn values Pollock at £1m
In August, Hearn claimed Pollock was worth at least £1 million a year, sparking speculation about his future and whether he'd leave Northampton.
“Eddie Hearn believes Henry Pollock is the future of rugby and says by paying him what he deserves, he can grow the sport to another level”
Premiership salary cap problem
The Premiership operates a strict £6.4 million salary cap per club, with only one marquee player exempt. Northampton already had Fin Smith as theirs, so Pollock couldn't earn £1m there.
Pollock considers leaving
After Dowson said a deal was close, Pollock publicly said he was still weighing his options and might go abroad, reigniting uncertainty about his future.
Pollock's statement on staying
Pollock said he was massively happy to re-sign with Saints, his boyhood club, and that it was exactly where he wanted to be at this stage of his career.
“I'm massively happy to re-sign with Saints, my boyhood club. It's an exciting place to be right now.”
Saints' ambitions under Pollock
Pollock said Saints won the Premiership last season and want to win again, with winning the Champions Cup as another huge ambition for the squad.
“We won the PREM last season and we want to go again. Winning the Champions Cup is another huge ambition for us.”
Rugby's culture shock
Sky Sports' James Cole noted that rugby isn't used to the public posturing Pollock and Hearn employed, which is common in boxing but alien to the sport's traditionally gentlemanly negotiations.
“Rugby isn't used to the sort of public posturing that Pollock and Eddie Hearn have engaged in over this new deal. It's very un-rugby.”
Hearn's negotiation strategy worked
Cole suggested Hearn used the media and the £1m price tag to secure a fantastic deal that tripled Pollock's salary, employing tactics the sport had never seen before.
Rugby's future may be changing
Cole said this public negotiation style, while off-putting to some Northampton fans, may become the norm as rugby evolves and adopts practices from other sports.
“It's the way the world works now. The way rugby could well become as we go forward.”
What it means
Henry Pollock stayed at Northampton Saints on a deal worth over £400,000 a year, tripling his salary, after a public negotiation that shocked rugby's traditionally private culture.
