It is the question on every Leeds Rhinos supporter's lips - what is the deal with the salary cap? Many have struggled to get to grips with the fact the Rhinos have been up to cap. But the message from Rohan Smith and Gary Hetherington has been consistent and clear, there has been no room to do any further business.
So where is all the cap space being used? If we roll the clocks back to the start of the season, the Rhinos were fully up to cap after an off-season recruitment drive that saw James Bentley, Blake Austin, Aidan Sezer and David Fusitu'a arrive at the club.
In April, the club brought in Hardaker. They were able to do the deal due to new salary cap rules that had been implemented ahead of the season. Whereas the salary cap had previously been live, the system was changed for 2022 which meant a club's salary cap spend must be under the maximum limit across the course of the year.
