The Betfred Super League's salary cap will remain at £2.1m, but with a third marquee player spot for homegrown talent added; other changes see an increase in the player welfare allowance, and working group set up to assess regulations for 2025 and the introduction of a cap floor
Saturday 3 June 2023 13:21, UK
The Betfred Super League salary cap has been frozen at £2.1m for the fifth year in a row, but with the addition of a third marquee player spot for homegrown talents.
Salary cap changes for 2024 across all three professional divisions were agreed after consultation with the RL Commercial board in Newcastle on Friday, but the new regulations mainly affect the 12 Super League clubs.
Most notably, the number of marquee player spots has been increased from two to three, providing at least one is federation-trained. The intent is to encourage clubs to develop British players and be able to retain them by reducing the amount they count for on the salary cap.
The finite cap will remain at the same level for a fifth-consecutive season with an emphasis placed on financial sustainability, particularly with the added consideration of clubs needing to repay Sport Survival Fund loans taken out from the government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"In making these recommendations, which have now been approved by the RFL Board and reviewed by the RL Commercial Board, we had to balance a number of differing considerations, and also differing views among Super League clubs," Robert Hicks, the RFL's director of operations and legal, said.
"Financial sustainability remains imperative, for the credibility of the Super League competition and of Rugby League as a sport - and also now to ensure our clubs meet their obligations to government under the Sport Survival Fund, as we continue to rebuild after the pandemic.
"We must also recognise the need for Super League to remain an elite and attractive competition, nationally and internationally. That is challenging, as while we welcome the growing strength of the NRL - and the NRLW - as good news for the sport of Rugby League, it can only increase the lure of a move to the southern hemisphere for our leading players."
Club-trained marquee players will now count as £50,000 on the salary cap, down from £75,000, while federation-trained marquee players will count as £100,000, down from £150,000. Overseas marquee players will remain at a value of £150,000.
Other changes see a substantial increase in the Player Welfare Allowance from £15,000 to £50,000 per annum, while the value up to which U21 Players will be exempt from a club's cap will rise from £25,000 to £30,000. The final change will see each club in all three competitions set a Financial Sustainability Cap for 2024, set against the Financial Sustainability Regulations.
A working group involving representatives from across the professional game, plus those from RL Commercial IMG and the RFL, will be set up to review the regulations for 2025 and implement the IMG recommendations around a salary cap floor, along with ensuring the professional game's financial sustainability.
"The introduction of a Financial Sustainability Cap for each club is also significant, allowing closer real-time monitoring of the off-field health of our clubs," said Hicks, who will chair the working group.
"The new working group will allow a range of views, including from clubs and IMG, to contribute to our discussions about further amends to the cap from 2025."
