A MAJORITY of Super League clubs plus the Rugby Football League will need to agree before the European competition accepts an NRL-led overhaul.
That was the revelation from Rhodri Jones, the MD of Rugby League Commercial who said his organisation (and not Super League Europe or the RFL) was charged with doing the potentially historic deal.
And Jones also said the NRL had asked for a significant input into the identity of European Rugby League’s first eight commissioners.
Jones and RFL chairman Nigel Wood met NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo in Hull today (Friday) ahead of the Super League clash between FC and St Helens at MKM Stadium.
“I’m very confident something will happen,” Jones said on Sky.
While Abdo dealt mainly in generalities in his pre-match interview on the same broadcaster, Jones was pinned down on several specifics. He said Abdo would be invited back to the UK in the coming weeks to potentially address the clubs and that the NRL was in the “driving seat” among potential suitors.
“They would like to have a heavy influence on the appointment of the commission and who sits on that commission,” Jones said.
Asked if all 14 club owners would need to agree, he said: “Not all 14. It would need a majority and it would need the RFL as a golden shareholder.
“What they perhaps haven’t understood in totality is the makeup of our governance structure in this country.
“We have multiple organisations. We have the RFL, we have Super League and we have Rugby League Commercial.
“But with hard work, better detail, we are confident we can overcome some of those challenges … to get the right results that game wants.
“The NRL one is the natural fit. They’re in the same sport. They’re probably ahead of the other conversations we’re having because of the close connection that we have and the close collaboration that we’ve had over the last 12 months in particular.
“That puts them in the driving seat but we have to make sure this is the best deal for the sport.”
Jones said he did not know what financial benefits would be eventually placed on the table by the NRL. “Not even ballpark at this stage,” he said.
He said Abdo has “got an open invitation. I think it will take a couple of weeks. There’s a lot of hard work in the next couple of weeks but I would be confident we would have Andrew back here in the next month or so and that’s the potential for a meeting with the clubs.”
“There is a positive conversation that’s been ongoing with the NRL” 🙌
Rhodri Jones gives an update on the recapitalisation of Super League and Rugby League as a whole 💠pic.twitter.com/FLPD5r2K8Y
— Sky Sports Rugby League (@SkySportsRL) April 16, 2026