This whole story is going to look very small if the NRL get their $1 billion TV deal...

Or maybe it's because whilst we view it as the greatest game, the money people in business see it as a minority sport played mainly in the north.

But the population of that area is greater than Wales, Scotland or Ireland.

That population shop, buy food, use banks, credit cards, mobile phones, interenet, insurance, ale, etc We will not hit the £16m sponsorship of the RFU but surely 25% of that is achievable for the second highest watched sport on Sky?

Nobody is saying that there isn't value in what we can offer in terms of exposure just that it isn't as easy as turning up at XYZplc demanding sponsorship. If you're a national company you're more likely to plump for national advertising because that's your market. If you limit yourselves to the M62 there may not be as much benefit unless you have a specific strategy in which isolating the Lancashire/Yorkshire markets was critical e.g. Waitrose launching in the north (used them as an example because there aren't any around this next of the woods).

Again, nobody is saying no but sports like cricket, golf and RU have strong representation with old boys etc at senior corporate levels which means sponsorship goes looking for them more than it does RL. Those three sports have spectator bases which have more disposable income than the RL fanbase. Given that the RFL have grown the business from, what? £7m to nearly £30m in ten years is no mean feat and I don't for one second think the sales teams we have are sat there twiddling their thumbs because that growth suggests something is going right doesn't it?

Excellent point! Never mind the RFU in England, if we could match the sponsorship incomes of the rubgy unions in those nations we'd be doing a lot better.

There are 3 in Leeds.