St Helens chairman makes intriguing central distribution admission as expansion defended

St Helens chairman Eamonn McManus insists it is not a foregone conclusion that the two extra teams coming into Super League in 2026 will do so without central distribution: and says existing clubs will ‘bear’ a dilution of existing revenue.

It had widely been expected that the two teams who would be admitted into the competition next year via an independent panel would have to come into the competition with minimal – or even no – central distribution.

But McManus, speaking during the BBC’s coverage of St Helens’ game with Huddersfield Giants on Sunday afternoon, stressed nothing has been formally decided on that front yet.

And crucially, he suggested that the 12 clubs who make the cut under IMG’s gradings may accept a ‘mild’ dilution of the distribution figure of around £1.2million each club currently receives.

“That’s not been finalised,” he said when asked about whether clubs coming up would have to take no distribution.

“The formula of distribution for 2026 if this happens – because the standards that are going to be set for the entrance of this clubs are going to be stringent – have not yet been determined.

“You can’t look at it in simple arithmetic formula. This is about the growth of revenues, growth of profile and there’s a bigger picture. If there’s a mild dilution to existing clubs, we’ll bear it.

“We’re looking for growth of the sport. We’ve not jumped to the conclusion, we’ve analysed it carefully over a period of time and we’re looking to grow the geographic footprint and profile.

“We’ve come up with this revolutionary concept of playing a game at home and a game away each year. Other sports should try it.”

When challenged about whether the expansion had come too soon and whether it should be pushed back to 2027, McManus replied: “When is it not too soon?

“We actually made this decision 12 months ago. There were a majority of clubs that informally decided we go this way and we decided to delay until 2026. It’s not without risk.

“But we’ve got to grow the game. It’s a matter of who the clubs are, what the standards are and the geographic footprint it produces for the game. This decision will only be made if the clubs are financially viable, have the right business model and can contribute to the sport.”

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