Rugby: 'Challenging the system' - All Black Ardie Savea reveals how he negotiated his own deal with New Zealand Rugby

Ardie Savea says he cut out the middle man to negotiate his own contract extension with NZ Rugby. Photo / Photosport

All Blacks superstar Ardie Savea has revealed how he cut out the middle man to sign his new four-year deal with New Zealand Rugby, in what he calls "something nobody has done before in New Zealand".

The 28-year-old loose forward finally put pen to paper to extend his contract with the All Blacks to keep him in Aotearoa through to the end of the 2025 season, following drawn out speculation over his future. Savea also recommitted to the Hurricanes until 2023 and has the option of playing overseas for six months in 2024.

In a peculiar video posted on his Instagram account – where he interviews himself playing the roles of both agent and athlete – Savea said he negotiated his own deal instead of using an agent as has been the norm in sporting contracts.

"My family's happy here in New Zealand. We're well settled in Wellington. I guess to be able to sign another four years here in New Zealand, it's truly a blessing bro. You know I love playing this game, you know I want to leave an impact here," Savea said to himself in the video edited to look like a video conversation.

"For me it was about doing something different," the 'other' Savea said in response. "It was all about patience, changing the narrative, challenging the system, understanding that this wasn't going to be easy. This is something nobody has done before in New Zealand. Nobody has negotiated their own deal to make themselves up there in New Zealand in this calibre."

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Savea is widely considered to be one of the All Blacks' best and most important players, which was backed up by his performances in the black jersey this year.

Savea, who has over 300,000 followers on Instagram, is listed as a client of Halo Sport, a sports management firm that represents a number of high profile All Blacks and athletes.

But he made it clear in the back and forth interview with himself that he did the bulk of the negotiations because he knew what was best for his own career.

"I knew you would do a good job, I just didn't know people would let you do a good job. I feel like a lot of people don't understand that we are up against a lot," he said.

"They tried to say you can't do a deal. They tried to say athletes should just stick to what they know. And we wanted to just show that we can do a lot more than just carrying the ball and tackling somebody. We can tackle a contract if we wanted to.

"Somebody's got to do the talking for you, so I figured why not be me?"

Savea also added that his work is not done and that he is keen on getting more into business and investing to make sure "our money's straight, making sure that we have financial freedom once we are done playing this violent game".

Savea, who has long been an advocate for player power in rugby, says his relative independence doesn't mean he's against partnering with people in the future.

He also appeared to credit Halo Sport's Warren Alcock for helping with the contract: "Shout out to Wazza for helping us close the deal towards the end."

Ardie Savea celebrates scoring a try against South Africa. Photo / Photosport

Ultimately he just wants to make sure he is financially secure after his career is over.

"There's a lot of guys that play the game and walk away with nothing. I think our main thing was making sure that we walked away with everything that we got while we were here. Knowing your value and getting what you're worth."

Savea has played 59 tests for the All Blacks since his debut in 2016 and was a key figure this season, starting 10 of 15 tests and captaining the team four times during the Rugby Championship, becoming the All Blacks' 70th test captain. He made his Super Rugby debut for the Hurricanes in 2013 and has gone on to play 108 matches, captaining the side in 2021.

NZ Rugby's general manager of professional rugby and performance Chris Lendrum said: "Ardie's been loyal to his club Oriental Rongotai, his province Wellington and to the Hurricanes in Super Rugby during his playing career and he's continuing that loyalty by recommitting to New Zealand Rugby for another four seasons.

"His performances this season have been very strong, and it's testament to the drive and passion Ardie has for the Hurricanes and All Blacks that he's committed his long-term future to New Zealand. We look forward to his continued contribution to the teams and communities he represents so well."