Sports promoter Eddie Hearn says England flank Henry Pollock must become a “seven-figure player” if the Northampton Saints want to keep hold of him.
Pollock is reportedly earning around £150,000 (R3.3-million) a season at the Premiership club, with his current deal expiring at the end of next season. Hearn, whose Matchroom agency represents the 21-year-old, believes he warrants a £1-million (R22-million) annual contract.
“Northampton have to recognise what they have got,” Hearn told The Telegraph.
“Henry Pollock drives season ticket sales. Henry Pollock puts bums on the seats. Henry Pollock drives viewership. Henry Pollock sells shirts.
“You can actually put an economic value on having Henry Pollock on the team, and that has to be recognised.
“He cannot stay at this club on the money that he’s on.”
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Hearn believes the England star could earn “10 times” his current salary elsewhere and described him as “certainly a seven-figure player”.
“For me, when I look at other players that are on those kind of numbers, Henry’s commercial value is on another stratosphere to them,” he said.
“The last thing we want to do is come into the game and start making all these demands. I understand the business – I’ve owned football clubs, right? I know these clubs are not making fortunes, it is not like we’re leaving millions of pounds on the table.
“But I just think that 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. I think the revenue coming into the game will as well. I think the amount of people looking to buy clubs or franchises or whatever these American investors want to look at, this is going to change it.
“And if someone comes along with a lot of money and buys a club, and I know you’ve got to talk about you know the structure of actually getting the players and the wage brackets, but ultimately, he is the guy that those investors, franchise owners and clubs are going to want to lead the team in terms of the star name.
“So what we can’t do is sign a contract that we look at in two years and go, ‘Oh my God, look at how much rugby is worth’. Within two or three years, the game could look completely different and we’re in a contract where Pollock should be getting three, four times what he’s on now.
“I don’t think it’s necessarily going to be a long-term deal. But it needs to be enough of a deal where Northampton can commercially hang a hat on and say Pollock’s our guy.”
The post ‘Pollock’s worth £1-million a year’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Sports promoter Eddie Hearn says England flank Henry Pollock must become a “seven-figure player” if the Northampton Saints want to keep hold of him.
The post ‘Pollock’s worth £1-million a year’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
