Can't complain. As usual the RFL are damned if they do and damned if they don't.

If they are putting money into the pot then it's all good. The RFL's stupidity in giving it to stobart for free means they don't really have much room to negotiate so to get anything at all is progress. All we can do now is hope that the deal works out for both sides and increases the value of the sponsorship in the future.

I disagree.

If you read the posts on this thread carefully then the majority support your view.

I'm not happy because I think the game has been sold short - yet again. But I think that I'm in a minority on this.

No i do agree with you but at the same time i think some including me are just happy we finally have a main sponsor and a building block to work on. Still much rather the chairmen of super league be in control of the commercial side as they have all had successful business.

I think we [ihave [/ibeen sold short, but the issue is (yet again) with the RFL completely screwing it up for the last couple of years & thus having no starting point for negotiation. We never will, but I'd like to see who else was in the running & what the tender conditions were.

As the RFL have said themselves, they're useless at looking at more than one thing at a time, let's just put a tick in that box & move on (I for one am looking forward to the 7th - although the drive up to the Lake District is looking a bit soggy for Sunday).

It's a positive step in the right direction. It gives us a foundation on which to progress and much needed financial input.

The 3 year term should take us to the cusp of the next World Cup, which MUST be in the UK again, this will give us a platform on which to progress again.

Obviously we wanted more money and more exposure, but you have to be realistic, after years of neglect we seem to be getting our act together.

I sometimes wonder if a major aspect of the sport being held back is through the negativity of its audience.

As a businessman I strongly believe in pomposity, the negativity that constantly surrounds our game no matter what happens I feel contributes massively to the lethargy that often surrounds the sport.

I wasn't just referring to this thread, hence the term "general response."

I've read comments on various forums on this site, redvee and also Facebook and I've found the majority of those comments have been negative.

I'm of the opinion that whilst it's not ground-breaking or earth-shattering news, it is a start and it is an improvement on the last 2 years.

Anyone remember how much Norweb paid to sponsor Wigan back in the day?

Be interesting to know how much an electricity company paid to sponsor a team compared to how much FU are paying for the entire SL today.

But you posted your comment on this thread. A thread that overall has been positive.

Something is certainly better than nothing but to put it in perspective Aviva paid £20 MILLION to sposor RU for 4 years. www.aviva.co.uk/media-centre/sto ... g-domesti/

Something is certainly better than nothing but to put it in perspective Aviva paid £20 MILLION to sposor RU for 4 years. www.aviva.co.uk/media-centre/sto ... g-domesti/

Think that just shows how much the profile of Rugby League has gone backward.

As to Norweb, i reckon Chariman Mo certainly got his fair share out of Norweb and possibly a lot more than published (if it is anywhere!)

Am i right in assuming he got Norweb to fund transfers ? Martin Offiahs springs to mind !

It's an RFL masterplan.

Change the rules until we're all suitably confused and then create a perfectly abbreviated name for the competition.

It's genius. FU Superleague.

You're being defensive and picking an unnecessary argument. My post wasn't a criticism of anyone on this board, lighten up man!

Anyway, back on topic, let's not forget that First Utility haven't been given exclusive rights, so there may be other sponsors coming on board which could take us over £1 million per season.

This probably plays a bigger part than people realise. If FU decide to look on the internet for the reaction to their sponsorship they aren't going to like it. And while they're browsing they will also see fans criticising pretty much every aspect of the game. RL in this country is surrounded by negativity, everyone should cheer the F-Up

I have read one article from a re-direct on Twitter that the figure they have paid is a "seven figure sum" so would mean that it's more than the £750,000 being rumoured.

If it is £1,000,000 then that works out at just over £71,000 per club.

I have heard that the deal is for the RFL to buy First Utility a coal fired power station in Yorkshireland. First Utility will then let the RFL put pictures of Superleague stars on the cooling towers .

Isn’t the sky deal up next year? Also if its the only deal only deal on the table then beggars can’t be choosers

are you a previous employee from the advertising and marketing department at the RFL?

The Sky deal runs until the end of 2015.

Sky lost a significant amount of football to BT recently. That changes the dynamic as they have had it practically their own way for a while. Will that mean they want to hold on to Super League?

Are BT interested? BBC? ITV or C4 or C5? ESPN? Does Premier Sports have a role as a partner like in the World Cup?

There are potential partners out there either as sole providers or in partnership like Sky/BBC at present. How about BT/ITV?

I just hope this is a cash payment followed by an affinity deal with individual clubs, commissions to switch suppliers could be as much as £100 per household, 300000 households switching for the right deal is a lot of money into the game even at £40 a shot

[urlhttp://www.superleague.co.uk/article/29356/st-helens-give-backing-and[/url

McManus is a shrewd and well connected businessman and i would like to think he doesnt do spin, whats everyones thoughts on his comments in the press release ?

The idea of an affinity deal crossed my mind as well but when I did Google search to find out a bit more about this lot it soon became clear you would have to be a masochist to switch to FU as your energy supplier. They started out all "we are different" and now they are just the same putting prices up just like the rest and a search on Google will show a ton of unhappy customers due to poor customer service.

It's a pity the co-op are up the creak due to the banking side as co-op energy get the exact opposite kind of reviews and the co-op would be a good partner for RL IMO.

I think you have posted that in the wrong thread. That is about the structure of the league, not sponsorship.

Quote ="Eastbourne Warrior"Something is certainly better than nothing but to put it in perspective Aviva paid £20 MILLION to sposor RU for 4 years. www.aviva.co.uk/media-centre/sto ... g-domesti/'" And that right there is where the RFL need to take a massive look at themselves. We know we have the product, so how has it got to the point where we're going with a sponsor, who frankly no one's heard of and are giving us peanuts? Yes, there is negativity around the sport, as someone else has said, but are they/we surprised when those in charge of the game fail to grow it? If the RFL truly want to grow the sport and put more bums on seats, make every man and his dog want to go to a game. Make a massive noise in as many channels as possible. We were getting there in the 90s, we need to get there and above again.

Quote ="Eastbourne Warrior"Something is certainly better than nothing but to put it in perspective Aviva paid £20 MILLION to sposor RU for 4 years. www.aviva.co.uk/media-centre/sto ... g-domesti/'" And that right there is where the RFL need to take a massive look at themselves. We know we have the product, so how has it got to the point where we're going with a sponsor, who frankly no one's heard of and are giving us peanuts? Yes, there is negativity around the sport, as someone else has said, but are they/we surprised when those in charge of the game fail to grow it? If the RFL truly want to grow the sport and put more bums on seats, make every man and his dog want to go to a game. Make a massive noise in as many channels as possible. We were getting there in the 90s, we need to get there and above again.

Pinched from a Stockport County fans site of all places:
Several years ago Norweb sponsored Wigan RLFC when Norweb was still a nationalised utility company. Norweb had previously announced that the sponsorship deal was for X hundred thousand pound per annum. I recall a press article where a St Helens season ticket holder wrote to the Chairman of Norweb, giving him notice that he would be withholding (at the time) £1.50 of his electric bill standing charge, because he believed this represented 'his' contribution to Wigan RLFC that he was unprepared to pay.

According to the Wakefield Chairman the deal is worth more in cash terms than the £750,000 per season being quoted.

There are also potential additions to be made by supporters signing up and converting to their tariffs.