It is getting close to the launch of the 2025 Super League season and there is a lot of introspection about facets of the game. Eddie Hearn believes the game is dying, Matty Peet believes that the salary cap needs to be re-examined.
https://www.totalrl.com/wigan-warriors- ... alary-cap/ Salford are staring down the barrel, with a need to balance books and avoid slipping out of the Super League on performance based on IMG ratings.
These issues are not unrelated, and the salary cap has remained static at £2.1M for several seasons. Successful teams like St Helens recorded financial losses of over £1.3M for 2023 with the forecast expected to get worse in the immediate future. On average every team is losing in the region of £1M a year, so why would Matty Peet advocate increasing the cap? The answer is simple he does not pay the discrepancy in income and expenditure. Mike Danson the current owner of Wigan Warriors is a billionaire, currently willing to absorb the costs.
Salford are at the other end of the spectrum, running a team that finished fourth in the league, with a total player salary believed to be £400k below the salary cap. Salford are still making a £500K loss, without any benefactor able to soak up the cost. Community Share issues and player sales have not filled the void of being without an owner with deep pockets. The 2024 season witnessed Castleford reduce the playing budget to £1.4M and Hull FC off-loaded most of the overseas playing contingent. Castleford finished 10th and Hull FC finished 11th on the same points as London. The achievement of Salford finishing 4th is amazing, but in reality it was a team that they cannot afford to run. Interviews with Warrington and St Helens, suggest both clubs are looking at ways to reduce the costs and minimise the losses.
The Super League owners meeting 14th January 2025 decided not to allow any dispensations for the proposed “Fire Sale” at Salford. Up for debate was a one year quota exemption for teams wanting to buy Salford overseas players, and to allow Salary cap to be breached to help Salford. The understanding is that both votes were for the status quo, with many owners wary of any additional costs which they would need to pay for personally.
Eddie Hearn believes that the sport has no Superstars in the UK game, Bevan French, Jack Welsby and Mickey Lewis are not nationally known because Rugby League is not regularly covered in the national press. The media landscape of 2025 is different to the start of this century, news is available if you are prepared to look, otherwise it will pass you by. Of the three RL sites I use regularly Total Rugby League and it’s association with League Express is the most professional, but content is limited. Love Rugby League tries to provide regular articles with some journalistic ability. Serious About Rugby League is clickbait, with infrequent journalistic content. Compared to other sports this is totally inadequate.
In terms of fanbase Super League sits below League 1 Football, where average attendances sit around the 10K mark. Castleford and Leigh are just below this figure, but Salford, Wakefield and Huddersfield are closer to 5K. If Super League clubs can get 10K through the turnstiles, then there will be a need to look at the stadia being used. Hull KR with only 3 stands may need to expand to cope with demand, and currently they are restricting visiting fans to below the recommended 10% which in my opinion is not good or fair to the visiting teams.
The SKY tv deal is on a downward trajectory, but as a bonus to fans all games are now available to watch via the SKY Sports+ app. Worries about attendances at games, appears to be unfounded, with only a slight dip of 7K recorded mostly due to Wakefield and London trading places. Leigh, Hull KR and Castleford witnessed an upsurge along with Wigan and Leeds. Many people are concerned with the lack of visibility of IMG when it comes to promoting Super League. When original deal was brokered, it was hoped they could negotiate a better TV deal. A bigger deal, means more money for the Super League clubs and a more sustainable sport. RFL commercial needs to learn to monetise the vast array of streaming services, ideally finding a TV partner for the Championship to be televised on a Monday night, now that SKY’s coverage for the 2025 season will stretch from Thursday through to Sunday. Reduced number of matches clashing particularly on a Friday will be down to only two games. This should increase viewing figures. Sky Sports should also make all games available for streaming for up to a month.
Rugby League is flourishing in Australia and the surrounding territories. The growth of the NRL suggests that the product is not the issue, and that Super League needs to managed better. Will Las Vegas Rugby League fest, be the saviour and break the game in the United States or is it just a publicity stunt? Only time will tell, but with the NRL pushing the event it stands a better chance than anything RFL commercial can manage.
