This increase in the number of 'Marquee Players' effectively means the 'Salary Cap' is being made redundant does it not? As only Wigan use it at the moment (for Sam Tomkins salary), the increase to two allows us to effectively keep George Williams. I've no doubt that if IL wants three MPs in a year or so, he will get his way.

If so this would be good news for our game.

However I'm confused because each club would be entitled to a dispensation for two Marquee Players whose Salary Cap value would be £175k (but for the Regulation, see below).

"The Regulation" would distinguish between Marquee Players as follows and (ii) all other Marquee Players be deemed to have a Salary Cap Value of £150k.


So does a non club trained marquee player have a value against the cap of 175k or 150k?

£150k - you have to be paying them £175k or above for them to be able to be counted as a marquee player.

Also players signed from RU salary doesn't count on the cap for first year and only 50% second year.

Thanks Andy, I must be thick because I still don't fully get it. Does it mean if you have a marque player whose earning 150k then his salary doesn't count on the cap, but if he's earning 175k or more then it does.

Considering how he's funding a huge chunk of Sam's salary out of his own pocket due to the marquee player rule (Sam barely playing will be salt in the wound), I'm not even sure whether he even would have wanted the 2nd MP slot. Gives Williams more bargaining power and will increase the external pressure from fans.

I sense from some people that they misunderstand what the marquee rule actually is. Clubs still have to pay the full salary, it just reduces what counts on the salary cap. Wigan are not flush as a club, far from it - we simply have a wealthy owner. But Lenagan is a business man and won't be willing to pour endless sums in to fund player salaries. I reckon only Salford and Warrington will be overly keen to spend more.

So going off this Cas could get Solomoana back from RU on a 2 year deal but only count 50% of his wage for the 2nd year.

Isn't The RFL paying some of Tomkins' salary?

I think it may apply to any club? It's just "getting them back into the sport".

So Wire could sign Charnley and 0% of his salary would count first year, 50% second year, 100% third year.

I think.

The club must be paying him at least £175k to count as marquee but only £150k would count against the cap. So lets say Wire get Cronk for £300k a season next year, only £150k would count on Wire's cap. If Wire paid him £174k a year he wouldn't be regarded as a marquee player and the full £174k would count on the cap - bizarre I know!

Leigh have Stewart

No returning players to the sport from RU must not have played RL for at least 5 years. If returning get 50% reductions on cap in year 1 and 25% in year 2.

The 0% and 50% allowances only apply to new players who haven't played professionally before.

Once again thanks Andy.

That is bizarre, pay someone 1.5 million and only 150k counts. Pay them 174k and it all counts. There must be a reason why they've done this but I can't think of it.

I presume it's so clubs aren't just automatically having their highest earner counted as a marquee player to free up space, regardless of whether he is the sort of high value, big name player this rule is targeted at.