Record revenue forecast for Prem amid R360 threat

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Prem Rugby is forecast to record revenues of more than £200m next year as the league looks to stave off the threat of the rebel R360 competition.

A financial report seen by the BBC - due to be released this month - shows a rise in revenues and a 44% reduction in "collective underlying losses" as the Prem recovers from a period of crisis.

Player salaries have moved above pre-Covid levels, with an average wage of £192,000 compared to £177,000 in 2019.

The brighter financial situation comes after warnings from R360 founders that club rugby union in its current guise is "unsustainable".

At the start of the year leading investors in the club game told the BBC that the model was "fundamentally flawed" amid fears that other clubs could follow Wasps, Worcester and London Irish and go out of business.

However, league strugglers Newcastle were recently taken over by energy drinks giants Red Bull, while ticket sales and TV viewing figures have increased along with a lucrative new professional game partnership, external with the Rugby Football Union.

According to the Financial Monitoring Panel, an independent body responsible for overseeing the league's finances, revenues next year will top £200m for the first time since the league went to 10 teams, with three of the 10 forecast to break even in 2026.

While running costs have been kept flat, with losses reduced because of "increased underlying revenues and cost control", third-party debt still stands at about £100m, roughly 70% of which is owed to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport after the 2020 Covid bailouts.

"We know we have something very special with the Prem and we are on a good financial trajectory," said Prem Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor.

"Fan interest and engagement is exponentially increasing too, proving that there is plenty more commercial growth to go after.

"Our focus now is to continue to fuel this growth with amazing players playing for historic clubs.

"We have an incredibly competitive league with strong foundations built on high standards, financial control and strategic investments.

"Our vision is to be the best league in world rugby and I am very optimistic about the future."

The rebel league R360, slated to launch next year, is fronted by World Cup winner Mike Tindall, former Bath player and coach Stuart Hooper and sports agent Mark Spoors.

They have proposed a global competition of eight franchises for men and four for women and hope to tempt the world's best players.

While R360 says its schedule would work around the international calendar, the national unions last month announced a blanket ban on international selection for anyone who signed up.

France captain Antoine Dupont has since committed to the status quo by re-signing with Toulouse, while a number of leading England players have pledged their futures to Prem clubs to ensure they are eligible to represent the national side.

Lock Alex Coles, who started the 38-18 win over Fiji, has joined Fin Smith, Fraser Dingwall and Tommy Freeman in signing new deals with Northampton.

"My goal over the next few years is to keep playing for England and make a World Cup squad," Coles told BBC Sport.

"Alongside that, trying to win something domestically and go one step further than we have in Europe.

"All those factors wiped out any possibility of the rebel league. It just shows how big a driver England is that all three of those other lads have also re-signed."

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