RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney paid record £1.1m salary after landing ‘performance-based bonus’

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney paid record £1.1m salary after landing ‘performance-based bonus’

Bill Sweeney has received a one-off bonus of £358,000 in addition to his annual salary – Luke Walker/Getty Images

Bill Sweeney, the Rugby Football Union’s chief executive, will be paid £1.1 million this year having received a pre-agreed performance bonus, despite recent redundancies and cost-cutting at Twickenham.

Sweeney’s annual base salary included a pay rise of 8.5 per cent from £684,000 to £742,000. According to the annual report, he has also received a one-off performance-based payment of £358,000.

Sweeney’s salary plus bonus for 2024 will be a record for a British sporting executive, with the Football Association’s chief executive Mark Bullingham currently paid £850,000.

The bonus is understood to be part of the RFU’s Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP), which was signed in 2021 and matured after three years. The RFU’s executive team agreed a six-month pay reduction in the same year following the pandemic.

The news comes at a time where the RFU is under significant financial strain. Telegraph Sport reported last week that the governing body is set to announce losses that could approach £40 million for 2023-24, more than the £30.9 million loss in 2018 that led to the resignation of Steve Brown, the previous chief executive.

The financial loss was expected given England played no autumn fixtures at Twickenham last November because of the World Cup taking place in France. That followed a £4 million operating profit for the 2022-23 financial year.

More to follow…

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