A flexible contract will keep Bernard Foley in Australian rugby for the next three years, but the cost of the exercise for the ARU is still very much unknown.

The ground-breaking deal will allow the classy pivot to play for the Wallabies and the Waratahs while also being able to chase an easy payday in the cashed up Japanese domestic competition – albeit it after the 2015 rugby World Cup and following the 2016 Rugby Championship

Nonetheless, ARU and Waratahs powerbrokers were all but forced into agreeing to the deal – the first of its kind in Australia – after Foley announced he had in fact signed on to play in Japan months ago.

“This probably hasn’t been as comfortable a process as what we would have liked,” Waratahs CEO Greg Harris said.

“But at the end of the day, the deal was done and we’ve got to work with what’s there.

“There was some difficulty involved in trying to arrange the contract around the two stints because the two stints had been agreed to prior to really getting into final discussions about his contract with the Waratahs and the Wallabies.”

Whether or not Foley would have remained in Australia if his sabbaticals had been denied is unknown, but the deal signifies a clear transfer in power towards the modern day player, in what is now a truly international market.

There is no denying the threat of the international rugby dollar, euro or yen, but the question now is where will it end?

Is it enough to offer sabbaticals to a select few Wallabies, or is a Japanese winter going to become a standard part of most contract negotiations?

“We will try to limit it otherwise we will have half the team over in Japan where you can’t control their off season and preseason.“ Harris said, admitting he has spoken to insurers in a bid to find out exactly where the standard player contract now stands.

Harris indicated that Israel Folau is seeking a similar deal, and few would deny a player of Folau’s quality the chance to test himself on the international market.

But, what will happen if, say, 21-year-old Randwick star Dave Horwitz – named on the Waratahs’ bench this weekend – tested his value on said market?

The ARU and Waratahs would obviously want to keep both players, albeit for very different reasons, but may find themselves in a difficult situation, should the latter scenario occur.

As Foley indicated, the lure of a Wallaby jersey will play its part.

“I’ve only just started playing for the Wallabies and playing consistent Super Rugby so that’s probably the main driving (factor) for why I’ve committed to Australian rugby,” Foley explained.

But for players outside of those calculations, the decision may be much simpler.

It will take some time to see exactly how this all plays out, but one things for sure, contract negotiations are set to be revolutionised as a direct result of Foley’s deal, and you can bet your bottom dollar that player agent’s are licking their lips.