THE Rugby Football League are celebrating a three-year sponsorship deal with the Stobart Group they believe could be worth £2.5m a year.

The nationwide logistics company, which already sponsor Widnes, have not paid any cash to secure the naming rights of the Stobart Super League.

But they will instead freely advertise the game on their famous trucks and the RFL insist the sport will not lose out financially.

Engage Mutual Assurance, who ended their seven-year sponsorship at the end of last season, paid £1m-plus a year for exclusivity and the RFL say the agreement with Stobart enables them to bring on board additional commercial partners as part of a multi-layered package.

RFL chief executive Nigel Wood told a news conference in Widnes the 14 clubs rejected cash offers in favour of Stobart, who will display the Super League artwork on 100 of their 2,250 40ft-trucks as they travel across the country.

He said nine of the clubs voted for the Stobart deal, which he claimed was ‘too good to turn down’.

"The title sponsorship in previous years was all-encompassing, in effect a lock-out of other brands," Wood said.

"This is the exact opposite. This has freed up inventory that is available which has a commercial value for other blue-chip brands to come in and support the Super League.

"You will see over the course of the next couple of months major partnership packages supporting the Stobart sponsorship so that you will find that the sport as a whole is financially in the same position.

"We set ourselves the challenge of getting all the benefits of this enhanced visibility of profile without hurting the profit/loss account.

"We had lots of interest and there was more than one offer on the table but, without a shadow of doubt, the offer from Stobart was one the RFL and the clubs themselves thought was too good to turn down.

"It’s a positive, progressive partnership which will move the sport forward. This is a fantastic deal for the sport.

"We think, and more importantly, the clubs believe we have an obligation to promote the Super League competition as aggressively as possible and at the same time retain the commercial value.

"It’s always difficult to nail it down to a notional figure but we’ve had estimates ranging from £1m to £2.5m a year in terms of the marketing value of this association."

The Stobart Super League kicks off on Friday week when Widnes host Wakefield and champions Leeds meet Hull KR at Headingley.