England head coach Steve Borthwick has named 17 players who have been awarded the first enhanced Elite Player Squad contracts in English rugby.
The introduction of the hybrid contracts, which form part of the newly created Men’s Professional Game Partnership announced in September, allows Borthwick to have the final say on all sports science and medical matters relating to the players.
The players awarded contracts are Ollie Chessum, Tom Curry, Theo Dan, Ben Earl, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, George Furbank, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Maro Itoje, Ollie Lawrence, George Martin, Alex Mitchell, Henry Slade, Fin Smith and Marcus Smith.
Among those players to miss out at this stage are back-row forwards Sam Underhill and Chandler Cunningham-South.
Borthwick has the freedom to select up to 25 players who will be paid as much as £160,000 annually in return for greater control of how they are managed on club duty.
The announcement comes just eight days before England’s opening Autumn Nations Series clash against New Zealand.
Borthwick said: “I am delighted to be in a position to name the 17 players who are first to receive the enhanced EPS contracts.
“I am confident that these contracts, and our strong relationship with the Premiership clubs, will play a significant role in England Rugby’s continued development.”
Team England Rugby (TER) is a first-of-its-kind player-led organisation which has England stars Genge, George, Itoje, Joe Marler and Anthony Watson on its board.
It has brokered a new Elite Playing Squad agreement covering all aspects of playing for the national team, including commercial and welfare considerations.
The deal begins with immediate effect and runs through to 2028.
The England men’s team’s fees and commercial deals had previously been negotiated on their behalf by the Rugby Players Association (RPA) but it was announced in January that relationship was ending, with the last RPA-brokered deal ending in the summer.
TER was set up as a not-for-profit organisation in January to represent the team’s collective views on all playing and commercial matters, address welfare concerns, ensure more tailored management of elite players and to work collaboratively with the RFU and other stakeholders towards the growth of the overall game.
The agreement includes new financial terms for the players, and introduces an exemption process to manage player load, where an individual is getting close to the 30-game limit agreed in September as part of the Professional Game Partnership.
England captain and TER board member George said: “While we have reservations about some aspects of the current protocols, we’re encouraged by the progress made. Reducing games from 35 to 30 demonstrates a commitment to player welfare that we believe is crucial for the success of English rugby.
“However, the intensity of international rugby is greater than ever, and we believe that specific international rest protocols need to be explored. We hope that the results of the research project will support this.”
The new agreement provides increased commercial and profile-building opportunities for players, with TER and RFU to work together on some commercial projects.
Genge added: “As a group, we felt that there was an opportunity with the new agreement to look at the commercialisation of England players, both collectively and individually, and we wanted to be at the forefront of these changes.
