LEADING rugby league agent, Craig Harrison of Show Me The Money UK, has admitted he is worried about the potential catastrophic effects on the sport’s Sky Sports deal from the Salford Red Devils fallout.
Ahead of the Red Devils’ fixture against Bradford Bulls in the Challenge Cup Fourth Round tonight, there are still question marks over what team head coach Paul Rowley will be able to put out with Salford still in special measures and under the £1.2 million sustainability cap.
Delays in payments to players and staff are at the forefront of the club’s issues, whilst Marc Sneyd was sold to Warrington Wolves yesterday for a five-figure fee in order to offset those delays.
Others such as Nene Macdonald and Deon Cross continue to be linked with exits, with the Red Devils in a perilous position in terms of honouring their playing obligations.
For Harrison, the potential consequences if Salford cannot raise a team and perhaps even exit Super League in 2025 are huge.
“If we end up where Salford drop out and all the players go, it means everyone gets two points – that’s the only way you can do it,” Harrison said on The Full Eighty Minutes podcast.
“That means that each week, a team won’t play for a period of two weeks. With that, you are not committing to the deal you’ve signed with Sky to play a certain amount of games.
“We will be a game a week short on what we’ve done the deal on so we all understand the enormity of what could go off from this.
“I pray to God that we get the right deal. If we’re not going to promote another club, the fallout could be massive.
“Somebody might be saying ‘we’ve got to keep them going’ because of what could happen where a club is just taken out of the league.
“I will be honest, if the investment money doesn’t come – and I pray to God it comes – the only thing we can do is prop this up.
“I’m assuming the other chairmen could get asked if they would be willing to put some money in to keep Salford and to keep the fixture to get the Sky money.
“Questions should be asked about how they have got into this situation.”