Latest big-money deal extravagant even by Top 14 standards

Jonathan Sexton’s move to French moneybags Racing Metro, bankrolled by Jacky Lorenzetti, may have come as a surprise to some, but there is method to the madness.

Sexton’s salary package has been rightly described as “exceptional” by Joe Schmidt, a man who knows a thing or two about exceptional money that floats around the big clubs in France. There have been rumours about his package but let’s look at the facts.

It has been reported that Sexton will earn €750,000 per annum but the reality is he will actually net €700,000 per annum due to tax reasons and the way the salary is formulated. This is a massive jump up from his current salary, rumoured to be around €350,000 a year and still significantly more than the €450,000 on the table from the IRFU and the €500,000 or so top earners like Jamie Heaslip are rumoured to be on.