Exeter Chiefs re-sign 30 players to new contracts following Premiership pay cuts

Wales prop Tomas Francis set to become ineligible for the national team after extending his deal at Sandy Park which leaves him short of the 60-cap selection threshold

Sunday 12 July 2020 06:08 EDT
Comments
Coronavirus: How has sport been affected?

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Exeter Chiefs have announced new contracts for 30 squad members following the salary cap cut agreed last month.

The likes of England trio Jack Nowell, Henry Slade and Luke Cowan-Dickie, as well as Scotland skipper Stuart Hogg, are among those to have signed long-term deals at Sandy Park.

Prop Tomas Francis has also extended his contract, which will rule him ineligible for Wales duty as the 48-cap forward falls short of the national team’s 60-cap threshold for selection while playing club rugby outside of the country.

Premiership Rugby clubs came to an agreement in June to slash their salary cap by £1.4m in the wake of the financial damage cast upon the sport by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Gallagher Premiership is set to resume in August.

The new salary cap comes into effect from the 2021/22 campaign and Exeter have wasted no time in making sure they fall in line.

"I'm delighted with what has happened," Chiefs' director of rugby Rob Baxter said.

"It seems strange really, because there has been an awful lot of news coming out from other clubs in regards what is happening around pay cuts, players leaving, players staying, yet we have got on with our business pretty quickly.

"They are all different and not one of them is the same. It's meant us having individual discussions with players and agents, but in the end I feel like we've all got what we need out of it."

Exeter finished top of the Premiership table last year but lost the final to Saracens, who have since been deducted a total of 105 points from the current season for breach of salary cap rules over recent years.

PA

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in