By Mitch Phillips LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - England's Prem Rugby clubs will face a "salary floor" minimum spend of 5.4 million pounds ($7.20 million) from next season as part of the league's push
Prem Rugby Introduces Salary Floor, Eyes League Expansion and Higher Standards
Prem Rugby's New Structure and Ambitions
By Mitch Phillips
Introduction of Salary Floor and Franchise Model
LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - England's Prem Rugby clubs will face a "salary floor" minimum spend of 5.4 million pounds ($7.20 million) from next season as part of the league's push to drive up standards having decided to make it a closed competition with access only via "franchise" applicants.
League Expansion Plans
Currently made up of 10 clubs, the Prem plans to expand to 12 in two years with new clubs admitted only on the basis of geography and after satisfying a series of financial and development criteria.
Prem CEO Simon Massie-Taylor told journalists on Thursday that the dream goal is to have 20 clubs by 2040, though that would depend on availability of players and other resources.
Salary Cap and Enforcement
The current salary cap of 6.4 million pounds – that can be increased to 7.8 million with various "credits" – will remain in place, in theory helping level the playing field, while a failure to spend the minimum will be punished by fines.
Financial Challenges and Club Readiness
In a league with limited income streams, some clubs might find that budget challenging while others, such as Newcastle who were recently taken over by Red Bull, and Bath, now co-owned by industrialist James Dyson, already look better-equipped financially.
Promotion, Relegation, and New Club Criteria
Closed Door to Automatic Promotion and Relegation
Having closed the door to automatic promotion and relegation, the expansion plan should see two clubs joining in the 2029-30 season.
Criteria for New Entrants
They could be current Champ (second tier) clubs that can meet the strict criteria, or newly created franchises, with Massie-Taylor stressing that high on the priority list is geography as there are vast swathes of the country with no club within striking distance.
Minimum Requirements for New Clubs
Any new club would have to spend a season in The Champ, but it remains to be decided whether there will be a minimum finishing position that would be needed to allow them to go up – though they would certainly not have to top the standings.
Raising Standards and Vision for the League
"We need improved standards across the league and to make sure clubs aren't making up the numbers and taking their position for granted," Massie-Taylor said.
"We'll have a salary floor to make sure we have a competitive league. Our vision is to be the best league in the world.
"We are on a journey to define exactly what that means, but it doesn't mean we are going to spend beyond everyone else and create wage inflation around the world, paying so all the galacticos turn up."
Case Study: Newcastle and Investment Impact
Newcastle, who have struggled to be competitive in the top tier, would have been a team in danger of being replaced but Red Bull's takeover last August, and the company's broad investment in infrastructure, the academy and the women's team, is exactly the sort of thing Massie-Taylor is seeking.
"To be blunt, Newcastle of old is an example of what is below the line of acceptability - this will push the clubs to a different level," he said.
Playoff Structure and Big-Game Concept
Massie-Taylor also said the league is considering introducing neutral grounds for their playoff semi-finals as part of a plan to expand on the "big-game" concept.
Currently the teams finishing first and second have home advantage in matches against the teams finishing third and fourth and invariably progress to the Twickenham final.
"Our ambition is to have 10 'big games' by 2030," he said. "And that includes the final and the potential for neutral playoffs."
($1 = 0.7495 pounds)
(Reporting by Mitch Phillips, editing by Christian Radnedge)
