JOHN Delaney signed a bumper loyalty deal worth more than €2million in 2014, the Irish Sun can reveal.

The deferred payment was designed to reward the then-CEO for his service over the next seven years of his tenure.

2 Ex-FAI CEO John Delaney Credit: PA:Press Association

2 Former FAI Treasurer Brendan Menton sent an open letter to the Minister for Sport Credit: Sportsfile

We understand the value of the ‘golden handcuffs’ package is proving to be a significant stumbling block in negotiations over his exit from the FAI.

The CEO retention contract is believed to have brought the value of his annual package — once €360,000 salary and expenses are factored in — to in excess of €700,000, sources say.

The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement is investigating the FAI.

And the deal, which has never appeared in the FAI accounts, forms part of the probe.

It's understood the board was aware he signed the contract, but sources tell us some weren’t fully aware of the detail.

A high-level source told us: “At the end of the day, Delaney negotiated the contract.

"How extensive it is or how costly for the FAI is not his problem.

"It wasn’t the best for the FAI but it was for him.

'A DEAL IS STILL THE DEAL'

"A deal is still the deal no matter how bad it looks now for everyone else.

"That’s his entitlement.

"It was signed in 2014, and it was never really questioned. This is where the ­governance falls down.”

The Executive Vice President — who has stepped aside pending a number of investigations into FAI finances — is believed to be ­entitled to a portion of the overall value of the contract if he leaves the FAI before 2021, based on the number of years elapsed since 2014.

A source added: “It looks like the value of his overall package was in excess of €700,000 per annum once the deferred payment and expenses were factored in.”

Another source told us: “The reason Delaney won’t step down is he wants this payment sorted out and done and the FAI obviously have concerns over the cost.

“The board weren’t fully aware of the value of it.

“Retention bonuses are common when businesses fear an important executive could leave for any reason. It’s an incentive plan. Usually it involves shares or a cash payment.

"The recipient alternatively could decide to invest it into a pension pot. It depends on the agreement.”

CLAIM PRIVILEGE

Last month, the Irish Sun revealed that a H4 complaint filed by the FAI’s auditors did not relate to the €100,000 cheque the former CEO wrote his employers in 2017.

The H4 means the FAI potentially faces a Garda or Financial Regulator probe for failing to rectify their accounts within a seven-day notification period.

The corporate watchdog has already initiated legal proceeding against the FAI.

Documents were lodged in the High Court on Thursday by the ODCE and the High Court on Friday heard lawyers for the ODCE make an application relating to matters sought by them from the FAI.

On April 19, the ODCE sought documents from the FAI including minutes for Board meetings between January 1, 2016, and March 21, 2019.

Last week, the FAI supplied the documentation and placed several documents in a separate container which it seeks to claim privilege over.

The ODCE wants the High Court to determine if the material is legally privileged, and the application is before the court again today.

The Irish Sun has contacted the FAI for comment.

Meanwhile, former FAI Treasurer Brendan Menton has written an open letter to Minister Shane Ross and Junior Sports Minister Brendan Griffin questioning the current FAI/Sport Ireland governance review.

He said: “I believe that governance reform without fundamental structural change throughout the FAI organisation will be ineffective. I believe there must be radical restructuring of the Football Association of Ireland.

“Transformation must be powered from the grassroots, not imposed from the top.”

He detailed his own reform proposals including updating Association rules, changing voting rights, having coaches, staff, fans and players represented at FAI Council meetings and having honorary officers elected at AGM rather than the FAI Council.