League affairs and broadcasting The 1998 pre-season marked the departure of
Rugby Football League chief executive
Maurice Lindsay, who was asked to resign by RFL president
Rodney Walker in early January. He was succeeded by his right-hand man, former deputy chief executive Neil Tunnicliffe. However, Lindsay immediately signed up for the position of managing director at Super League (Europe), the parent company of Super League. The deal brokered between the RFL and SLE for his transfer entailed the payment of Lindsay's salary by the RFL for two years, as well as the payment to SLE of about £500,000 previously earmarked for the defunct
Paris Saint-Germain and
Oldham clubs. Lindsay's move which quickly followed by another row over which organization would represent Super League clubs in their negotiations with
Sky for the sport's next television contract. The deal was eventually signed between Sky and Super League Europe, although it still required the approval of FASDA (the group representing the RFL's minor league clubs), who was offered the sum of £10.8 million by Sky in exchange for their approval. However, FASDA stalled deal in order to obtain assurances from SLE that the promotion system would be preserved, even as talks were underway with expansion teams in
Gateshead and
South Wales. Two weeks later, FASDA and SLE reached an agreement keeping promotion and relegation. This paved the way for the signing of the new TV deal on 15 July. The total amount was £44 million over four years, plus a £1 million signing bonus for the Super League itself, and another £1 million to the RFL for the rights to select international matches not covered by main broadcasting contracts.
Other Despite FASDA rejecting a proposal to officially recognize farm team agreements at the end of the previous season, player call-ups continued unabated amidst several Super League clubs' decision to shut down their reserve teams. As a result, FASDA demanded in January that the number of players concerned by such arrangements be capped to three. ==Teams==