‘The market is very difficult’ : Premiership clubs battling for sustainability | Paul Rees

Over the 21 years since its inception the Premiership has attracted good crowds but player wages are eating up revenue The new Premiership season kicks off at Ashton Gate on Friday night when promoted Bristol meet Bath. The clubs are run by the two richest men involved in the game, whose combined wealth is more than £2bn, but 21 years on from the tournament’s launch clubs remain mired in debt and the game is still a licence for backers to lose money.Cumulative losses for 2017-18 are expected to be £35m for the 12 clubs, an average of almost £3m each. Northampton were the first to announce thei…