It's been raised to 50% of 'relevant income'. Which could mean anything.

Is this an adjustment to allow Leigh to sign Rangi Chase and keep their unprofessional owner happy? Or are the Championship clubs doing so well financially that a cap increase is a sustainable idea?

OR is it a change in the cap away from a defined financial ceiling to a % of income, which could mean some smaller clubs have less cap room now?

Leigh have said they will spend £1.3M. How can they afford this when most super league clubs are losing money spending £1.6M.

Degsy has deposited a cash amount as guarantee, or something like that. Big spends again for Leigh. Need a better finish than last year though.

Most, no all, Super League clubs spend more than that, sometimes a lot more, on off-field, academy, back office and community work. That is/was part of their obligation as Super League licenceholders - Leigh may or may not spend similar amounts but the salary cap isn't the main cause of SL club losses. In any event, the newest TV deal without increasing the cap should have addressed some of those issues.

In Derek's own words, by the end of next season he will have put £1m of his own money into Leigh Centurions over the course of three years.
That may go some ways to explain how they continue to spend up to the cap limit, whatever that limit may be.

I have no problem with an owners' funding being used by clubs. However, if it is to count towards cap revenue it must be guaranteed for a minimum period - e.g. current year plus at least one ahead. Otherwise if they pull the pin the club is likely to be quickly insolvent as they will have player contracts over future years which cannot be met otherwise. A bank guarantee is a perfectly reasonable way to assure this. Not sure about the cost of bank guarantees to wealthy individuals, but in the corporate world they're relatively cheap if you have a good credit rating.

Ridiculous timing of this decision. Would have been better to either take this either earlier in the year or announce for 2017 introduction. It would give all clubs the opportunity to plan financially for that. Most clubs are back in pre season with their squads being defined on the basis of the Salary cap. Would some players have left certain clubs if the clubs had known this was a definite. Your clubs recruitment might have been very different.

Don't get me wrong if a club is generating income this gives an opportunity to compete more successfully and allows perhaps an improvement in quality in the second tier. This might address some of the imbalance for the games against SL clubs, but that is only the last eight games of the year. Pretty much reinforced the longest Pre season in sport - 23 games.

The decision and its timing highlights incompetence at the RFL.

This decision will allow for a true level playing field in the middle 8's, without it the middle 8's are a completely uneven playing field.

The cap is now effectively the same as SL, for what its worth i dont think the cap serves any purpose in any league but thats for a different debate.

Roll on August 2016..

Edited for accuracy

The more time that passes, the close we get to where we were pre- Super League.
Of course, the Franchise/License situation didn't prevent, Bradford, Wakefield, London and the Crusaders all getting into financial strife but, you do have to worry for clubs like Leigh who are without doubt, chasing the dream.
Yes, the middle 8's proved a little uneven last season but, is the change in the 2nd tier salary cap the best way forward ?

The way that things are shaping up, it wont be too long before we have yet another change to the league structure.

Whilst the top of the Championship "strengthen" to try and gain promotion, the bottom half of the comp will be nowhere near being competitive, which will leave them waiting for the "split" just to get some "sensible" games.

Leigh and Halifax dominated last season (pre the qualifiers) and e gulf will widen further this season.