Multi-million euro package keeps Irish rugby stars at home

THREE OF the biggest names in Irish rugby have signed new contracts in a multimillion-euro deal that will see them stay on home soil for at least another two years.

Brian O’Driscoll and Jonathan Sexton have committed to domestic rugby until June 2013, and fellow Leinster man Jamie Heaslip until June 2014, the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) confirmed yesterday.

It is likely Heaslip has signed an improved deal in the region of €400,000-€500,000 per year with incentives (such as his number of Test appearances per season), with Sexton’s salary estimated in the region of €350,000-€400,000, including incentives.

O’Driscoll, who turned 32 a fortnight ago, most likely accepted a reduction in his basic package.

The IRFU is believed to have come close to matching the players’ valuation in the high-spending French market, where Sexton was reputed to have attracted a €1.1 million, two-year offer from Stade Français.

A number of other factors are believed to have influenced the deal, including the fact that commercial opportunities for Irish players are greater when they play in Ireland, and tax benefits available to home-based players.

Under the tax break introduced in 2002 by then minister for finance Charlie McCreevy, a home-based player can reclaim 40 per cent of the tax he has paid over the course of a maximum 10 years in Ireland (equating to 17 per cent of his gross pay) provided he ends his career in Ireland.

Thus, were a player to retire in Ireland having earned €100,000 per year for a decade, he would be entitled to a rebate of about €170,000. For players in their 30s, like O’Driscoll, this could be a major incentive to stay put.

Heaslip’s decision to remain underlines his status as the likely heir to O’Driscoll as Ireland captain.

On the eve of the Six Nations, Ireland coach Declan Kidney will be particularly relieved that the trio’s futures have been resolved.