£150,000 against £1 million
That gap is the whole story. Henry Pollock earns somewhere near 150,000 pounds a year at Northampton, according to the English press, topped up by his Elite Player Squad money from the England setup. His agent has floated a figure roughly seven times that.
Phil Dowson fronted up on Thursday morning and put the Saints’ position on the record. They want to keep him. “We really want to keep him, he really wants to stay, and that is a very good place to start,” Dowson told reporters, before adding that both sides will have to find “a fair middle ground.”
Pollock, 21, comes out of contract at the end of the 2026/27 season. Talks are already under way.
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Eddie Hearn threw the number out there
Pollock’s interests are handled by Eddie Hearn, better known for filling arenas in boxing, who also looks after Finn Russell. Back in early August, Hearn said his client should be on a million pounds a season. English rugby has not stopped chewing on that line since.
Dowson refuses to be baited. “Eddie Hearn has a job to do, which is to promote his client and push for more money for him. He’s done both very effectively,” the coach said. He even framed it as good for the game, more eyes on rugby, more room to grow.
The budget is where the sentiment runs out. Northampton have a whole squad to assemble under a salary cap, and Dowson did not pretend otherwise. Money decides this, the way it always does.
A Saints product with a Lions tour behind him
Pollock came through the Northampton academy and made his senior debut at 17 in 2022. Four years on he has England caps and a British and Irish Lions tour on his record, and the club he grew up in are the reigning Premiership champions.
Dowson kept the last word for what the player actually wants. “He wants to win the World Cup, he wants to win things. I am fully on board with that,” the rugby director said.
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