Super League expansion update as new financial idea mooted and NRL stance on 14 teams clear

Super League possibly expanding to 14 teams as early as next year is likely to be central to Nigel Wood’s strategic review: with more and more top-flight clubs open to the idea so long as it makes financial sense.

Wood has been leading a review of the professional game for the last few months, and is expected to deliver his verdict on the sport at a Council meeting where all clubs will be present in July.

But expansion of Super League – or at least the possibility of it – is going to be the main talking point, with a growing number of clubs now open to the idea.

One senior official at a Super League club told Love Rugby League they felt the move was ‘as good as a done deal’ – but there are still serious reservations about how putting two more teams into the elite competition would impact the finances of the existing 12.

Many clubs had privately accepted that there would be expansion in 2027, by which time the sport would have hopefully secured a new increased television deal that would allow the competition to grow and not impact the cashflow of those already in Super League.

The competition has experienced a major drop-off in TV rights across the last decade, with the sport now getting around £21million per year for its deal with Sky Sports, compared to £40million before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Various ideas have been suggested between clubs about how to make 14 teams work as early as next year – with one proposition that two clubs would come into the league from the Championship and take no central distribution. They would effectively fund promotion themselves.

That would allow the distribution the existing 12 receive to remain unchanged, a prospect that would be incredibly appealing for those already in the competition. Love Rugby League has been told that at least two teams currently playing in the Championship would be willing to take that financial risk.

But if those two teams were not the teams placed 13th and 14th in the IMG gradings, that would then create a situation where the game would have to consider abandoning the format that has only been live and used for one season: effectively ripping up the recommendations made by IMG.

Concerns also remain about other issues including the depth of the player pool, and whether there is enough talent to sustain 14 professional clubs.

However, a move to 14 would instantly solve the problem of a chaotic fixture list and remove the need for loop fixtures – something which all clubs would be in favour of.

But there is also a knock-on effect for interest in Super League from the NRL, Love Rugby League has been told, with any move to go to 14 – and follow Wood’s recommendations – likely to be hugely unpopular with administrators Down Under.

Were the NRL to take control of Super League or form a breakaway competition, they would prefer the league to shrink in size, not expand. One administrator in the NRL told Love Rugby League that going to 14 would effectively be a nail in the coffin for any interest from Peter V’landys and the NRL.

But for now, Wood will deliver his review next month and more and more clubs appear open to the prospect of Super League returning to a 14-team competition. Bradford Bulls, York Knights, Toulouse and London Broncos have all made clear of their intentions to push for promotion.

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