It appears the RFL are providing 200K to pay the Bulls players wages . If this is the case then Bradford must have surely been breaking the salary cap? Even if you include the NI and academy players it just doesn't stack. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/18686404

It appears the RFL are providing 200K to pay the Bulls players wages . If this is the case then Bradford must have surely been breaking the salary cap? Even if you include the NI and academy players it just doesn't stack. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-league/18686404

Not necessarily. That money might cover the whole of last month, and they may only pay the players during the season (8 months), which brings us to £1.6 million which is still the cap limit (isn't it?).

The RFL stepping in was, I think, the only option. Expunging Bradford's matches would have left Leeds one game short of everyone else, and could well leave them outside the top 8, prompting a 'certain type of Salford fan' style hissy fit. The payment should only get them through to the end of the season, though. After that, I think they should spend a bit of time outside of Super League.

Do you interpret the 200K from the RFL as a financial gift or monies owed to the Bulls in the future brought forward?

The article doesn't really say, but I suspect it'll be financial help. Bradford backed the RFL into a corner with this, and helping them limp through to the end of the season seems the least worse option.

Yet this appears to be throwing good money after bad and sets a dangerous precedent when it appears that a number of clubs are in financial strife. What happens the next time, and the time after that? Moreover, the RFL appear to be propping up something that hasn't got a long term future just for the sake of not upsetting Leeds? Why didn't they do this for Crusaders or Wakey?

I think there were other options one of which was/is to let the current Bradford club die to serve as a very significant reminder that no-one should be immune to financial failure. Bradford are just one in a long line of clubs to go bust by spending more than they can afford over a sustained period in the hope of glory on the field. These clubs have regularly taken points off other teams around them (in our case twice making the difference between staying in SL and being relegated to the Championship, throwing our limited finances into chaos to boot) and their boards have just carried on not giving a s**t about the immediate and eventual consequences of their actions that have eventually affected their fans, including dipping into their pockets to the tune of £500k with no plan to reduce their expenditure to a realistic level.

I feel desperately sorry for the Bulls fans, it's not their fault that the people who ran their club were profoundly incompetent, but I think the last thing they need now is for the RFL to make this situation limp along any further. Perhaps now some of our more vitriolic posters on here will recognise the value of the approach that JW has taken over the years to not spend what we don't have (by the way that's not a cue for a debate on WHAT we spent it on btw) because God knows, the RFL don't give off any signs that keeping your financial house in order will ever be rewarded.

When you put it like that, its hard to have any sympathy with Bradford.

There are more clubs than just Leeds affected by this. There are what? 8 games left in the ordinary season. That means there are probably 4 clubs, maybe 5, still awaiting a visit from Bradford. Those clubs will have sold season tickets and sponsorship on the basis of 13 home games, but will be shortchanging those season ticket holders and sponsors if they only deliver 12, leading to potential losses when they all start asking for money back. They'll also miss out on the gate receipts, bar receipts, etc, while at the same time still incurring costs related to the missing fixture if, for example, they rent their stadium.

The RFL needs to limit the fallout from this, so I don't think they have much choice other than to help Bradford reach the end of the season. Then they should let the current club die and start again in the Championship (if they'll let them in). Longer term, the RFL need a cunning plan to help prevent this happening again, or at least a plan on how to deal with it should it happen again.

Exactly that was my point.

If the cap is 1.65 million and you divide that by 12 it's £137,500. If the National Insurance is 13.8% that adds another £18,975, totalling £156,475. I just can't see the Bulls paying their academy players a cumulative figure of forty odd grand a month. Even with two teams the under 18's and U20's that would mean each player (40 players) was paid an average of a grand a month for being a part-time prospect. There is no way it's costing clubs near 500K a season to just pay academy players. I'd imagine that a lot of these boys are just getting reimbursed for travel expenses etc.

I would have thought that the 1.65 million included tax and NI, which makes the academy figures slightly bigger.

Someone must have an idea on how much our academy get paid, even if it's a rough guess through the Forever Reds work?

To my knowledge the employer doesn't pay tax on the employees salary only the NI.

Red John. Having analysed the tables and the 2 scenarios that have been rumoured (ie expunging all of bradford's games or adding the points on to those teams that have lost or are yet to play them). There is only one team in the entire league that loses out both ways.... Salford!!!!
If they expunge them we lose 3 points and if they add them then Wakefield gain 4 as opposed to our 1. This adversely affects our league position. Also if they add the points Leeds would in fact gain 4 points also having lost to the Bulls earlier on in the year with the added bonus of 2 points from their Magic weekend win. This is hardly a hissy fit but cold hard facts!

Employers deduct tax at source if you are PAYE and should then pay this to HMRC. Many failing companies will make the deductions then not pay this over.

I believe the payments made to players represents an advance of monies due to Bradford for SKY or Stobbart money.

As Red Willow points out, they do. I think it gets paid to HMRC monthly, but I'm not 100% certain on that (I know self-employment tax is annual from previous experience).

What I mean is the players contracts won't cost a club anything in (income) tax and it isn't an added expense like NI. For instance if you take this 200K the income tax will be deducted from the employees salaries. NI is different and paid by both the employee and the employer.