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Wales loose-head prop Nicky Smith will leave Leicester Tigers at the end of the 2025-26 season.
The 31-year-old, who joined Tigers from Ospreys in 2024. has turned down a new deal to stay with the Prem side, a club statement said.
Smith, who has been linked with a move to Sale, has made 32 appearances for Leicester so far, including eight this season in all competitions – seven of which he has started.
Leicester head coach Geoff Parling said the club “would have loved to have kept him”.
“Nicky is firstly a great player, and secondly a great character to have in the changing room,” Parling told the club website.
“With this in mind, we would have loved to have kept him for the next couple of years, but he has decided to take up a longer-term offer elsewhere.
“We know how committed he is right now, and we’ll continue to look forward to big performances from him for the rest of the season.”
Smith, who has been capped 59 times by Wales, is the second name to confirm they will be departing the club this summer following England lock George Martin, who has signed for Saracens in 2025-26.
However, seven players confirmed new deals with the club earlier this week and Parling said more are set to follow.
“We will reveal another group of retained players this week and are having advanced negotiations with targeted recruits which we will announce when things are finalised,” Parling said.
