A guide to the Super League

Founded in 1996, Super League was created as British rugby league moved from a winter sport to a summer sport, replacing the old First Division in the process.

Over the years, Clubs from outside Britain have been included in Super League, including Catalans Dragons

Super League relegation

Over the years, Super League has employed various methods of relegation, with licensing introduced in 2009 meaning teams wouldn't be relegated, until 2015, when relegation was reintroduced.

Following the implementation of IMG's grading system, promotion and relegation were scrapped, with teams awarded Super League places based on a variety of criteria.

The London Broncos were relegated from Super League in 2024 due to not accruing enough points to maintain their Super League status.

Super League play-offs

At the end of the regular season, the top six teams will qualify for the Super League play-offs.

The top two teams automatically progress to the semi-finals, with the following four playing in the eliminators. Teams ranked third and fourth in the table will play home games against teams finishing sixth and fifth respectively with the winners progressing to the semi-finals.

The team topping Super League at the end of the season will play the lowest-ranked team to qualify from the eliminators at home, with the second-placed team facing the remaining team at home.

The winners of the semi-finals then meet at Old Trafford in the Super League Grand Final.

Super League Grand Final

While the League Leaders' Shield is awarded to the team finishing top of the table at the end of the regular season, the Super League Grand Final is used to determine the league champions.

After the play-offs, the two remaining teams will meet at Old Trafford in the Super League Grand Final where the game has been held every season bar 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the game was held at the MKM Stadium in Hull.

Salary Cap

To ensure teams don't spend beyond their means and to prevent the league from being dominated by wealthier clubs, Super League uses a Salary Cap.

The Salary Cap is set at £2.1m per year, unless it is deemed a club cannot afford to spend that much, in which case, an individual club's Salary Cap can be reduced.

There are certain dispensations, including the 'Marquee Player' rule that permits clubs to have two Marquee Players whose Salary Cap value is limited to £150,000 (or £50,000 if club-trained). A club can also have a third Marquee Player if they're trained within the federation.

Number of games

Every Super League team will play 27 games in the regular season. They will play all teams home and away for a total of 22 games, plus Magic Weekend, and then four more rounds of fixtures.

Magic Weekend

In a bid to promote rugby league, the Rugby Football League organised the Magic Weekend, to be held annually whereby a full round of fixtures would be completed at one ground over a weekend.

First starting in 2007 with 'Millennium Magic', Magic Weekend was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for two years before spending two years in Edinburgh at Murrayfield Stadium before another year back at the Millennium Stadium.

Between 2012 and 2014, Magic Weekend was held at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester before spending four years in Newcastle at St James' Park. Magic Weekend was held at Anfield in 2019 before returning to Newcastle for three more years after a Covid-19-forced absence in 2020.

Elland Road hosted Magic Weekend in 2024, and the event will return to St James' Park in 2025.

Overseas quota

Super League rules dictate that no club can include more than seven players on their quota from outside their federation, meaning players must have played in Europe for three years before the age of 21.