Super League expansion talk sees brakes pumped as IMG chief notes ‘asterisk’

IMG Chief Matt Dwyer has pumped the brakes on talks of a Super League expansion in the next two years by highlighting a key ‘asterisk’ in the criteria.

Per the Yorkshire Post, Dwyer has conceded that any idea of expanding Super League beyond 12 teams is reliant upon a stronger broadcast deal, with the sport currently locked into the current deal until the end of the 2026 season.

IMG facilitated the current broadcast deal with Sky Sports and the BBC but it was at a reduced rate compared to previous ones, despite selling the rights to every game in Super League.

One of the principles that the IMG grading system was sold upon was that a Grade A club guarantees a Super League spot but after nine made the grade in Year One, Dwyer has highlighted an ‘asterisk’ on that point.

Per The Yorkshire Post, he said: “There was always an asterisk surrounding the fact that if we get to 12 Category A clubs and we then look to expand: it’s only if the game can afford it.”

Super League expansion remains the plan but put on hold

As it happened, year one of grading saw the jump from seven to nine clubs with Hull FC still very close after losing their provisional Grade A status. For Dwyer, there was some surprise at the number of Grade A clubs.

“I’m happy to say that we’ve got to more Category A clubs quicker than I expected and that’s great,” he said before highlighting the promoted Wakefield Trinity as one of the clubs who embraced the criteria.

“There are a couple of clubs you can really see have embraced it, Wakefield being a great example. They went away, sat down and worked out what they had to do to get up to the highest level.”

So whilst the ‘asterisk’ makes it unlikely that we see any Super League expansion in the immediate future, Dwyer maintained that it is still the plan and highlighted when it could first become a reality.

“The intention is expansion but that asterisk remains and we’ll need to see where we’re at.

“I would think that would be after we do this next renewal for the broadcast rights, given current projections. So we’ve got a season or two to work it out.”

It’s reported that the current broadcast deal is worth around £21.5 million per season, far lower than in previous years, and therefore for Super League to expand whilst on this current deal, clubs would have to accept a smaller slice of the same pie.

Recently, Derek Beaumont spoke about the TV deal and claimed that Sky Sports ‘devalues’ Super League and called on IMG to ‘build and empower’ Super League clubs to become ‘competition’ to the likes of Sky.