Super League XIII - Operational Rules

Operational Rules

Refined salary cap regulation to prevent clubs over-spending:

• Super League clubs agreed to use the pro-active salary cap already in use in Australasia with the NRL. The new cap examines each club's salary cap position at the beginning of and then during the season, new player signings will be permitted only if it is affordable within the cap. Nigel Wood, the RFL's chief operating officer, explained that new system dealt with the weaknesses of the previous one that had meant breaches were only discovered in retrospect and could only be acted upon during the following season, as the new system is 'live' clubs cannot breach through miscalculation or mismanagement.
• The salary cap for this season was set at £1.6 million for the combined earnings of the top 25 players. Clubs are permitted to spend a £50,000 maximum on players outside the top 25 earners who have made at least one appearance for the club in the first grade during the year. Expenditure on players outside the top 25 who make no appearance for the first team are unregulated. If a player has represented the same club for 10 consecutive seasons only half of their salary will be counted towards the cap for the eleventh and subsequent seasons - subject to a £50,000 maximum for each club.

To provide a bigger pool of talent for the Great Britain team:

• Clubs ratified a homegrown player rule designating 'club trained players'. Clubs must include a minimum of five players who have come through their academy or are under 21 years old in their 25-player first team squads. British clubs were required to have ten United Kingdom-trained players and no more than ten overseas-trained players in their 25-player squads.