HOGG TO HAUL IN OVER £500K-A-YEAR AT EXETER

EXCLUSIVE

STUART HOGG will be unveiled as an Exeter Chiefs player today as the Lions and Scotland full-back completes his move to England, where he will stay until at least 2021. The 26-year-old will become a top earner at the club with an annual salary north of half-a-million pounds. Hogg announced on Sunday that he was leaving Glasgow Warriors, where he was the highest-paid player in Scotland on £375,000-a-year, and the Gallagher Premiership finalists from last season have snapped him up.

Sportsmail can reveal the Devon club will officially announce Hogg on a two-year contract that will begin in the 2018-19 season. It is believed that he will earn more than England internationals Henry Slade and Jack Nowell, whose new deals are understood to be worth £450,000 and £350,000 a year respectively. Hogg will join the Chiefs as a marquee signing — whose salary is not counted in the official cap — and add firepower to the Exeter backline. Head coach Rob Baxter already has Lions Alex Cuthbert and Nowell in his squad, as well as England internationals Slade, Ollie Devoto, Australian Test player Nic White and young star Joe Simmonds. Announcing his departure from Scotland, Hogg, who has won 63 caps and toured with the Lions in 2013 and 2017, said he was leaving with a heavy heart. ‘This is a decision that’s taken a great deal of thought as I’ve loved my nine seasons at Glasgow Warriors,’ he said. ‘I said I would decide my next step for family and rugby reasons — and feel now is the right time to gain new rugby experiences and push myself in different situations where I will be challenged and, hopefully, improve further. ‘I’m proud of what I have achieved with Glasgow Warriors and Scotland so far and would like to thank the club and Scottish Rugby for all their support. They have supported me when I had made my decision to move on and I know they did all they could and I’m grateful for their support.’