Super League owner makes ‘miserable’ financial outlook and bold IMG claim

Castleford Tigers’ prospective new owner Martin Jepson has warned that rugby league’s finances are in ‘miserable shape’: and says he struggles to comprehend how clubs survive without wealthy benefactors.

Jepson is in the process of acquiring the shares of the Fulton family which would see him become the Tigers‘ new owner, following on from him investing a significant six-figure sum earlier this year.

He would become the latest wealthy owner of a Super League club, and Jepson told Love Rugby League that he cannot imagine how clubs without millionaire owners are able to exist at the highest level.

Super League clubs will receive around £1.3million in central distribution for 2025, significantly down on recent seasons, owing to a drop in TV revenue from Sky Sports. That means that to spend the salary cap, clubs have to find almost a million pounds extra from somewhere else – and that is just on player salaries.

Jepson has warned that there may be a ‘difficult few years’ in front of the sport as it fights for more attention.

He said: “In short, the finances of all rugby league clubs are in pretty miserable shape. Without benefactors, I struggle to understand how a club can survive if I’m being truthfully honest. There are a few difficult years ahead and the situation is worse because there’s not a lot wrong with the product itself and the game, so we can’t really improve there.

“The whole branding, marketing and promotion of the game needs to improve because we’re in an increasingly competitive marketplace with all other sports. We need to improve the whole image of the game and get it into the nation’s consciousness because that’s how you attract new people.

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“I really struggle to see how a club survives without external investment because there is not enough money coming into the game.”

Jepson’s investment in 2024 allowed Castleford to make improvements on and off the field, which ultimately led to them being awarded Grade A status in the end-of-season rankings despite suggestions earlier in the year they may not make the cut for Super League in 2025.

He insists he sees no reason why they will not maintain that ranking in the years to come: but has now called on IMG to turn their attention away from the rankings.

He said: “There’s been some tweaks to the rankings system. But I think that we should be able to maintain that standard. We’ll lose in a few areas but hopefully gain in a few.

“There’s a big gap between the clubs aspiring to get into Super League and those that are there. I’m not concerned where we are about rankings, to be honest: I’d rather IMG were spending their time promoting the game rather than counting directors seats.”