Former England captain Courtney Lawes has revealed he is unsure about his club future after confirming that he has an escape clause written into his Northampton Saints contract.
The 33-year-old versatile forward is due to be under contract at Franklin’s Gardens until 2024, but could now leave at the end of the season.
Reports in France have suggested Toulon, who signed Dan Biggar from Saints last month, would be at the front of the queue to sign the two-tour Lion.
Lawes said: 'My contract is not necessarily up this year, there's options there,' he said. 'At the end of the day, I've got to do what's best for myself and my family.
'I'd love to stay at Saints, at the same time you've got to find what's best for yourself and your family, like Dan Biggar has done.
'That's the most important thing, especially when you're getting a bit older. I think I'll probably get one more contract out of myself, then call it a day at the end of that.'
JOIN THE RUCK:
Courtney Lawes Facts:
- Lawes was born on 23 February 1989 in Hackney, London, but grew up in the Northampton area
- He has featured for England in 11 successive Six Nations campaigns
- Lawes didn’t receive an email checking his availability for the British & Irish Lions 2021 tour because it was sent to an old email address
- The second-row and wife Jessica have four children – Nell, Teddy, and twin boys Otto and Hugo
- Lawes played an integral part in Saints securing both the Premiership and European Rugby Challenge Cup titles in 2014
Premiership’s highest paid player each season from 1998 to 2022
The Gallagher Premiership is now filled with players who earn astronomical salaries. Year upon year, wages for top players seem to skyrocket.
By how much? We’ve identified the highest-paid Premiership player for every season since the game went professional to find out.
To do so, we've undertook painstaking research to delve into newspaper archives to reveal the reported player wages.
Some seasons had multiple highest earners with players signing contracts at different times throughout the campaign but they’ve used the highest earner at the end of each season.
Got it? Good.
Let’s take a look at the results:
1997-1998: Va'aiga Tuigamala (Newcastle Falcons) - £80,000 per season
1999-2000: Francois Pienaar (Saracens) - £85,000 per season
2000-2001: Jason Robinson (Sale Sharks) - £180,000 per season
2001-2002: Martin Johnson (Leicester Tigers) - £200,000 per season
2002-2004: Jonny WIlkinson (England) - £250,000 per season
2005-2007: Lawrence Dallaglio (Wasps) - £300,000 per season
