Henry Pollock has ended speculation over his future by signing a bumper new contract with Northampton Saints.
The 21-year-old has committed his future to his boyhood club after a remarkable rise with Saints, England and the British & Irish Lions.
And it comes with a huge pay rise.
Pollock had reportedly been earning around £140,000 per year from Northampton, alongside approximately £150,000 through his enhanced England contract.
However, The Times reports that his new Saints deal will be worth around £400,000 per season for the 2027/28 and 2028/29 campaigns.
That potentially takes his rugby income to around £550,000 per year once his England deal is included.
It also puts Pollock among English rugby's biggest earners.
The RFU has confirmed its latest group of enhanced England contracts, with Pollock among the 25 players selected for 2026/27.
But how does his new package compare with the biggest English earners in the game?
NOTE: Rugby contracts are private and exact salaries are rarely disclosed. The figures below are based on reported club salaries and estimated England payments where applicable. Commercial endorsements have not been included unless otherwise stated. English players based overseas were also considered.
10. Ben Earl – Saracens – £400,000-£450,000
Earl has developed into one of the world's leading back-row forwards.
The Saracens star is also among the players handed an enhanced England contract for the 2026/27 season.
Those RFU agreements are worth around £150,000 per year, replacing the previous system of individual match fees and giving England greater control over players' conditioning and workload.
Earl's exact Saracens salary has not been made public, although his overall rugby earnings have previously been estimated at around £400,000 to £450,000 per year.
9. Tom Curry – Sale Sharks – £450,000-£500,000+
Curry remains one of Sale Sharks' biggest names and highest earners.
The British & Irish Lions flanker also retains his enhanced England contract for 2026/27.
His exact Sale salary has never been publicly confirmed, but Curry has regularly featured among the highest-paid English rugby players.
His overall rugby earnings have been estimated around the £450,000-£500,000 mark, potentially higher depending on how club and international payments are calculated.
8. Ellis Genge – Bristol Bears – around £500,000+
Genge remains among the best-paid props in English rugby.
The Bristol Bears loosehead is one of Steve Borthwick's enhanced-contract players and has previously been reported to earn around the £500,000 mark when his various rugby payments are considered.
His importance to both Bristol and England continues to make him one of the country's most valuable forwards.
7. Henry Pollock – Northampton Saints – around £550,000
And here he is.
Pollock's new Northampton contract represents one of the biggest salary increases in English rugby.
According to details of his new Northampton contract reported by The Times, the back-rower had been earning around £140,000 from Saints, plus his England payments.
His new Northampton salary will rise to approximately £400,000, potentially creating a combined rugby package worth around £550,000 per year.
That's before sponsorships and commercial deals are taken into account.
Pollock only turned 21 in January, meaning there could be considerably bigger contracts still to come.
6. Jamie George – Saracens – £550,000-£600,000
The experienced Saracens hooker remains among English rugby's biggest earners heading into his final season.
George has confirmed that 2026/27 will be his last campaign before retirement.
He also remains part of England's enhanced-contract group, meaning he receives the RFU's annual payment alongside his Saracens salary.
His overall rugby earnings have previously been estimated in the region of £550,000-£600,000 per year.
5. Tommy Freeman – Northampton Saints – around £600,000
Northampton have also spent heavily to keep one of their biggest stars.
As part of an extensive look at how PREM clubs are navigating the salary cap, The Times reported Freeman's next Saints contract will be worth approximately £450,000 per year.
That's slightly more than Pollock's new £400,000 club deal.
The England and Lions star also holds an enhanced RFU contract worth around £150,000.
That would put Freeman's combined rugby earnings at approximately £600,000 per year.
4. Owen Farrell – Saracens – £600,000-£685,000
Farrell is back among England's highest-paid players following his return to Saracens.
The former England captain spent one season with Racing 92 before Saracens confirmed his return to the club on a two-year playing contract.
His French contract was widely reported at around £685,000 per year, although his current Saracens terms are understood to be lower.
Estimates place Farrell's current earnings somewhere around £600,000-£685,000, although Saracens have never disclosed the exact figure.
One important difference compared with several players on this list is that Farrell does not currently hold an enhanced England contract.
That means there is no additional £150,000 RFU payment to add to his estimated Saracens earnings.
3. Fin Smith – Northampton Saints – around £750,000
Smith is comfortably Northampton's highest-paid player.
The England fly-half agreed a major new contract following his involvement with the British & Irish Lions in 2025.
The Times' breakdown of Northampton's salary-cap position puts Smith's Saints salary at around £600,000 per year.
He occupies Northampton's marquee slot, meaning those wages sit outside the normal salary cap.
Smith also holds an enhanced England contract worth approximately £150,000.
That potentially takes his combined rugby income to around £750,000 per year.
2. Marcus Smith – Harlequins – around £750,000
Few English players combine earning power and commercial appeal quite like Marcus Smith.
The Harlequins playmaker has previously been reported to earn around £600,000 at club level.
Smith is also among England's enhanced-contract players for 2026/27, adding approximately £150,000 to his annual rugby income.
That would put his combined earnings at around £750,000 per year, before endorsements are considered.
Smith's long-term future has also been the subject of plenty of speculation, with the fly-half entering an important period in his Harlequins career.
1. Maro Itoje – Saracens – £800,000-£950,000
England captain Maro Itoje remains at the very top of the list.
Itoje is Saracens' marquee player for 2026/27, with The Times' examination of PREM salaries confirming that his wages therefore sit outside the club's normal salary cap.
His overall package has been estimated at between £800,000 and £950,000 per year, including his Saracens earnings and enhanced England arrangement.
The England and British & Irish Lions captain therefore remains comfortably ahead of Pollock despite the Northampton youngster's enormous pay rise.
What about English players overseas?
English players based overseas were also considered for the ranking.
Jack Willis remains one of Toulouse's leading back-rowers, while Kyle Sinckler is playing his club rugby with Toulon.
Willis has previously explained the financial realities of playing for Toulouse, suggesting some players accept less than their potential market value because of the opportunity to play for the French giants.
Reliable figures for Willis and Sinckler's current contracts are difficult to establish, however, so neither has been placed above players on this list without stronger salary reporting.
It is also worth remembering that overseas-based players are generally unavailable for England selection and therefore don't receive the £150,000 enhanced contracts handed to Borthwick's selected PREM players.
For Pollock, the comparison is particularly striking.
He has gone from a reported Northampton salary of around £140,000 to £400,000, while retaining his enhanced England deal.
That puts the 21-year-old's estimated rugby earnings at around £550,000 per year – and already among the ten biggest English earners in the game.
