Super League clubs received just £1.241million in central distribution in 2024 and 2025 – a drop of well over £300,000 from 2023.
The competition agreed a new TV deal with Sky Sports at the beginning of last year to broadcast every game live on the network and its supporting channels until the end of the 2026 season.
Organisers along with RL Commercial and IMG have already begun the process of going into the market to explore a new deal for 2027 and beyond – and it is clear that the market is continuing to shrink when it comes to interest in rugby league rights.
At one stage around a decade ago, clubs were getting £2million a year in central distribution, but that number is now almost half that figure.
Confirmation about the exact figure clubs are getting in this TV deal has come via Leeds Rhinos’ official accounts, which were posted on Companies House on Tuesday. They showed the Rhinos made a significant loss well in excess of £1million.
But what is perhaps more interesting is the drop-off in distribution which is underlined and made clear in the accounts.
They received £1,586,339 in central revenue for the 2023 season. But in 2024, that number was down to £1,241,000.
That is a drop of just over 20 per cent from the previous cycle, illustrating the growing financial challenges many clubs are facing.
That number is likely to be similar in 2026 too, which means clubs will once again face a monetary squeeze. There are still discussions about whether or not to increase the competition to 14 teams, with a decision to be made at a Super League clubs meeting next Monday.
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