Handre Pollard has signed one of the biggest contracts in the history of South African rugby upon his return to the Bulls, according to reports.
Reports broke on Friday that the double Rugby World Cup-winning number ten had signed a deal to return to his old stomping ground, with his contract at Leicester Tigers expiring at the end of the season.
The next day, the Bulls confirmed the news and announced that Pollard had signed a two-year deal to rejoin the Pretoria-based side.
The 30-year-old’s future has been up in the air for some time now and many predicted that he would be off to Japan on a massive contract, joining fellow Springbok Cheslin Kolbe at Suntory Sungoliath.
However, the Bulls were able to table a lucrative offer to lure him back to Loftus Versfeld.
Handre Pollard’s eye-watering salary
According to Rapport, Pollard will not have to scale back on his lifestyle after making the switch from Leicester to Pretoria after signing one of the five biggest contracts in the history of South African Rugby.
The fly-half was understood to be earning around £650,000 (R15 280 000) a season at Leicester Tigers and according to the report his new deal will hit the same ballpark as his net earnings will be ‘many millions of rands more than the number on the back of his jersey’.
Sources confirmed to Rapport that local Springboks earn an average of between R5 million and R7 million a year, but a handful of players like Siya Kolisi, Eben Etzebeth and now Pollard earn two or three times that.
The Bulls will not shoulder the entire burden of Pollard’s salary, however, as he will benefit from a top-up on his earnings from the Player of National Interest (PONI) contracts that SA Rugby pays.
The report adds that the Bulls’ shareholders Johann Rupert, Patrice Motsepe and Johan van Zyl also financially assisted the Bulls in securing Pollard’s return with commercial agreements also raising his salary to a similar mark to his earnings at Leicester.
Opinion: Handre Pollard’s return a win for Bulls, Springboks but not Leicester Tigers
Further Bulls’ signings
Pollard is not the only Springbok who will be arriving in Pretoria next season to strengthen Jake White’s squad.
It is reported that Jan Serfontein and Nico Janse van Rensburg will arrive from Montpellier, the former was set to return to the Bulls this season but his arrival was delayed due to the delay in obtaining his French citizenship. As for Van Rensburg, he has been granted an early release from his contract with the French club in order to return to South Africa.
Additionally, White has secured the signature of Stormers’ scrum-half Paul de Wet.
It has also been confirmed that former Sharks and Lions prop Carlu Sadie will not return to South Africa after signing an extension with French club Bordeaux. The tighthead had signed a pre-contract agreement to join White’s squad before Bordeaux had a change of heart after a deal with French prop Tevita Tatafu fell through, the Top 14 club duly compensated the Bulls to buy him out of his deal.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/handre-pollard-to-earn-two-or-three-times-more-than-fellow-springboks-in-one-of-the-biggest-deals-in-sa-rugby-history
