Rugby Football Union (RFU) chief executive Bill Sweeney received a pay rise of over £400,000 even though the English governing body announced a record operating loss of £37.9 million on Monday.
The annual report showed revenues of £175.2m compared with £221.4m in the previous year, with investment in rugby at £96.1m and an operating loss of £37.9m (a drastic plunge from £4m profit in the previous year).
Sweeney was paid a total of £1.1m — an increase from £684,000 — made up of a basic salary and bonus of £742,000 as well as a payment of £358,000 as part of a long-term incentive plan, making him the highest-paid CEO of a British sporting body.
Former England and Wales Cricket Board CEO Tom Harrison, now CEO of the Six Nations, received £1.13m before he left in 2022, also bolstered by a one-off payment, while Mark Bullingham, top man at the Football Association, earned £850,000 according to their latest accounts.
Sweeney’s figures will make uncomfortable reading for the around 40 people being made redundant by the RFU, the third major swathe of redundancies in the last six years.
Income from the new £100m sponsorship deal with Allianz for naming rights of Twickenham Stadium did not feature in last year’s accounts.
“As expected in a World Cup year, investment in our England teams increased to 28.7m v 25.5m in the prior year,” the report said. “There was 24.9m invested in professional men’s and women’s clubs and 12m invested in professional match officials, sports medicine and events and competitions.”
RFU Board chairman Tom Ilube said: “Four years ago the game faced an unprecedented and unforeseen set of challenges and costs triggered by COVID. We end this latest four-year cycle with a strong balance sheet, no debt, a robust cash position and positive P&L reserves. That is the result of strong leadership and hard work from everyone involved in rugby.
“The Rugby World Cup revenue impacts we see in this financial year were anticipated, planned for and they are in line with expectations. This has enabled us to continue investing strategically in the game at all levels with confidence.
“During the pandemic, the executive team took deeper and longer salary cuts than the rest of the organisation along with a reduced bonus. The LTIP recognised the material and voluntary reduction in remuneration, despite an exceptional increase in workload, while also incentivising the executive team to remain in post to deliver against challenging multi-year targets.”
Sweeney posted a positive picture of the game, despite the losses and the financial struggles of most of the country’s professional clubs.
“In the community game player numbers have stabilised, with more teams playing in RFU leagues and players reporting feeling safer as a result of a reduction in the tackle height,” he said. “We have seen a year-on-year increase in age grade player registrations with boys registrations increasing by 16% and girls by 10%.
“As we look forward to hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, the Impact ’25 legacy programme that we are delivering with Government, Sport England and UK Sport has already seen £12.13m committed in England and the home unions, creating more rugby opportunities for women and girls.
“We continue to retain and attract new partners and are delighted that one of the world’s leading insurers, Allianz have extended their support for rugby with a significant, long-term investment in the game. The partnership will be transformative, not only to the elite men’s and women’s teams but also aims to have a positive impact on community clubs around the country.”
