Major Salford Red Devils update as deadline passes for bids to RFL for ownership

Three different consortia are officially in the running to take control of Salford Red Devils in 2026 after the deadline passed to express interest to the Rugby Football League.

The governing body revealed last week that they had terminated the club’s playing licence after they were ordered into liquidation by the High Court following a year-long financial battle.

However, no decision on which ownership group gets control of that licence will be made until later this month – December 17. That would give the successful party less than a month to set up a new club from scratch: and recruit an entirely new squad and coaching team.

And it can now be revealed that three parties have beaten the initial deadline set of 5pm today to get their bids into the governing body.

There is now a further final deadline of this Thursday to submit all paperwork – but three parties are likely to do that later this week.

In a statement, the RFL said: “The RFL can confirm that it has received three expressions of interest in relation to Salford Red Devils. The deadline for final submissions is 5pm on Thursday 11th December, with a final decision set for Wednesday 17th December.”

One consortium is being led by former Red Devils CEO Chris Irwin, while another features ex-Salford player Mason Caton-Brown and has Malcolm Crompton and Paul Hancock involved, too. The third is believed to be fronted by Tracy Atiga – who has links to the previous ownership that have now been removed from the club.

Love Rugby League revealed last week how Irwin’s consortium are looking to bring Adrian Morley into their team as a club ambassador. Morley would be seen as a key figurehead in helping usher in a fresh era for the Red Devils.

But it remains to be seen whether they will get control, with the RFL set to debate the issue over the coming days. Salford will likely be a point of discussion at Tuesday’s Council meeting in Wakefield, too.