Sports promoter Eddie Hearn told the Daily Telegraph that Northampton openside flanker Henry Pollock should be earning £1m (€1.16m) a year. Hearn stated that Pollock's financial value will increase rapidly alongside the overall growth of the sport.
“He’s certainly a seven-figure player,” Hearn said. “The way rugby’s going and what Pollock is doing, his value over the next couple of years will skyrocket, and I think the value of rugby will.”
Pollock is out of contract with Northampton next summer. The 21-year-old backrower already has 13 England caps to his name and was part of Andy Farrell’s Lions squad that toured Australia last summer.
Pollock currently earns an estimated £150,000 (€175,000) per year from the English Rugby Football Union (RFU) as an enhanced elite player squad member with England. Having signed up with Hearn’s Matchroom agency in March, Pollock has secured lucrative commercial deals, including Nike. A prominent figure on social media, Pollock describes himself as a “digital creator” on his Instagram account with no mention of his rugby exploits, marking him as a card-carrying member of the TikTok generation.
Hearn's assertions about Pollock's future pay packet face several practical obstacles. The Northampton player is not yet in the world-class bracket. While he has become a fan favourite at Franklin’s Gardens, Pollock has yet to secure a regular starting spot with England, where head coach Steve Borthwick has preferred to use him as an energetic impact sub.
There is also the restriction of the salary cap in England. English rugby is currently facing financial challenges, with few clubs turning a profit. Hearn’s suggestion that multi-million pound contracts will soon arrive at negotiating tables is considered delusional by industry observers.
Salary comparisons in international rugby
Only a handful of top Test stars earn seven-figure salaries. Scotland out-half Finn Russell, who is also represented by Hearn, is believed to be the only player in the English Premiership commanding a salary of £1m a year. The 33-year-old is closing in on a century of international caps and started all three Tests in last summer’s victorious Lions tour after Bath broke the bank to lure him away from Racing 92.
Pollock cannot currently match those credentials. To significantly boost his take-home pay, Pollock would need to move abroad. However, England’s stance on selecting overseas-based players serves as a powerful bargaining tool to keep talent at home, a rule that the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) also applies.
Hearn has also argued that Pollock possesses substantial marketability that drives commercial value for his club.
“Northampton have to recognise what they have got,” Hearn argued. “Henry Pollock drives season ticket sales. Henry Pollock puts bums on the seats. Henry Pollock drives viewership. Henry Pollock sells shirts, right.”
However, club rugby in England remains a relatively small market financially when compared to major leagues like the Premier League or the NFL. Only a handful of top England players earn six-figure deals at the top end of the scale, namely Maro Itoje, George Ford and Marcus Smith.
Even in France’s Top14, which features big-money backers, sold-out arenas and lucrative TV deals, only a few players are on seven-figure contracts. Toulouse star Antoine Dupont, considered a generational talent and the premier scrum-half in the game, is believed to be one of those few.
Japan’s League One is another competition that attracts big names with lucrative financial offers. South Africa's Springboks stars, including Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and Malcolm Marx, are all understood to be earning salaries in the region of €750,000 per season, though none are on seven-figure deals.
Irish contracts and player valuations
When it comes to Ireland’s top players, none of Andy Farrell’s frontliners are likely to break the €1m threshold anytime soon. Established Ireland regulars including Caelan Doris, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Beirne, Andrew Porter and Josh van der Flier earn healthy salaries believed to range from €500,000 to €700,000 a year.
At present, Jamison Gibson-Park is considered the most valuable Irish player in the system. The 34-year-old New Zealand-born scrum-half has been the fulcrum of Farrell’s Ireland team since his breakout season in 2021. While Dupont is the premier scrum-half, Gibson-Park is rated a close second with the ability to bend matches to his will, as demonstrated at Twickenham in the spring.
Ireland is a different team when Gibson-Park is on the field, making it Farrell’s main priority to keep the Leinster half-back fit over the next 16 months with the 2027 World Cup on the horizon. Gibson-Park is also a Test Lion, adding another major achievement to his career.
If contract negotiations required it, Gibson-Park would have a strong case for a top salary. Fortunately for the IRFU, he is locked into his current deal until the conclusion of the 2027/28 season.
Irish rugby is unlikely to see a player on a seven-figure contract for a long time. Meanwhile, Pollock will need to set aside off-field salary discussions and focus on delivering performances for his club and country before commanding big-money contracts like Russell or Gibson-Park.
