RFU chief Bill Sweeney wanted to defer controversial bonus payment
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Bill Sweeney, the under-fire chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, has revealed he wanted to defer the controversial bonus payment that has led to calls for his removal. The RFU has agreed to hold a special general meeting, at which Sweeney will face moves to end his tenure, after the Guinness Six Nations.
Annual accounts published in November revealed Sweeney received pay of £1.1million for the 2023-24 financial year, comprising of an increased salary of £742,000 and a bonus of £358,000. Further bonuses totalling almost £1m were paid to a five other executives even though the RFU reported a record operating loss of £37.9m and made 42 staff redundant.
Speaking to The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast, Sweeney said he had been unable to push back his long-term incentive payment. “I knew it was going be a major problem, quite a way before it was done,” he said. “I wanted to defer it, so I said, ‘Why are we paying this in ’23-24? Why don’t we defer to ’25 or ’27?’.
“The problem is, once you’ve declared an incentive programme like this, it’s stated in your annual reports, and it was done previously, you accrue for it year after year. “Even if it has been paid later, it still has to be announced and it still has to be taken in that year, so that wouldn’t have changed.”.
