Super League clubs have voted to expand English rugby league's top-tier competition from 14 teams to 15 for the 2027 season.
The league’s shareholders made the decision today, and it is understood that clubs will now be invited to apply to be the 15th team.
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The Super League expanded from 12 to 14 teams for the 2026 season, allowing Bradford Bulls, York Knights, and Toulouse Olympique to join, with Salford Red Devils dropping out after a financially tumultuous 2025 campaign.
This will be the first time the league has operated with 15 clubs, with the top flight running with 12 for much of its existence apart from spells with 14 teams in 2000, from 2009 to 2014 and last season.
In a statement, the league said: “Super League (Europe) Ltd has today held a shareholders' meeting to determine how many clubs will take part in the competition in 2027.
“Having agreed in favour of moving from 14 to 15 clubs, SLE has passed their decision on to the Rugby Football League Board.
"The RFL Board will now set out criteria and assemble a panel to run the process to judge against it. A recommendation will be made in due course.”
The expansion could see London Broncos rejoin Super League, having won the second-tier Championship Grand Final and 1895 Cup last season.
The club is graded lower than Championship rivals Barrow Raiders under the system created by the game's strategic partner, IMG; this is because the data is taken from a three-year cycle, and the season after former owner David Hughes' investment in the club must be taken into account.
Despite this, the Broncos are expected to apply to be the next club in the Super League. It is not yet known if any other clubs will join the process.
The Broncos were relegated to the second division in 2024 and were then taken over by an ownership group including Australian businessman Grant Wechsel and NRL and Brisbane Broncos legend Darren Lockyer after Hughes, who had owned and funded the club for 27 years, announced he was walking away from the club.
In October 2025, the club’s application to join the expanded 14-team Super League for the 2026 season was rejected.
According to BBC Sport, it is understood that any completed investment deal with the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), the body behind the NRL, would insist on Broncos featuring in the top flight.
The Super League formally received an investment proposal in August and has been in discussions with the 17-team NRL and the ARLC since 2025 around potential investment opportunities.
It was recently reported that the Rugby Football League’s board has agreed to approve the terms of a deal sheet that will see the NRL partner with Super League from the start of 2028.
With 12 of the 14 clubs also agreeing to the deal last month, it means the partnership is almost completely approved.
The terms of a deal sheet are understood to have been presented before the governing body’s board of directors last Thursday, with the outline and framework of a partnership explained and how it would benefit the whole sport.
Ultimately, those on the board decided they would give the green light to the terms on offer, meaning talks can once again progress to the next stage.
It is a significant and sizeable moment for a deal which has been on and off at various points over the last few months but now looks as though it is finally reaching a resolution.
The next significant step is an RFL Council meeting in December where all stakeholders from across the sport will discuss the matter and the next steps.
The Super League is also in the market for a new title sponsor after UK gambling firm Betfred recently ended its long-standing agreement with the competition.
Betfred has been the league's title sponsor since 2017 but opted not to extend beyond the 2026 season.
The most recent deal between the pair was struck in October 2023 and was valued at more than £3 million ($4 million) per year, according to GlobalData Sport.
The Super League has not confirmed any new partners to replace Betfred, but has said it has made "big steps" towards securing new sponsors.
