The Scarlets have signed Welsh rugby’s Professional Rugby Agreement — the last of the four professional clubs to do so, and more than a year after the deal was first put on the table.
The Welsh Rugby Union confirmed the Llanelli region has joined the Dragons, Cardiff Rugby and the Ospreys on PRA25, which the governing body says establishes financial stability for all four men’s teams through to June 2028.
But the agreement runs only until the start of the 2028/29 season — at which point, the WRU says, its plan to move to a new three-club model will be implemented.
That leaves all four clubs signed up to a deal that ends with one of them gone.
For the Scarlets and the Ospreys, the signing closes a stand-off that has run since spring last year.
The two west Wales clubs refused to sign the original agreement in May 2025, seeking guarantees about their futures — prompting the WRU to announce it would move away from evenly funding all four clubs.
A U-turn followed in April, when new agreements were offered to both — hailed by politicians in the region as “a massive victory,” though with warnings the three-club threat had not gone away.
The Ospreys signed in June. The Scarlets held out a further five weeks.
The Llanelli club’s signing comes days after accounts revealed a third straight £2m annual loss, with the club navigating its 150th-anniversary season under the shadow of the WRU’s restructuring plans.
WRU chief executive Abi Tierney said she was “delighted” all four professional clubs had now signed.
“We have now entered a period of increased stability across the performance game in Wales and begun to increase investment in our support structures and pathways,” she said.
She said the union’s long-term strategy was “clear,” with further updates promised soon: “For now, we look forward with excitement to the start of the next United Rugby Championship in September with all four of our professional teams at play.”
Marianne Økland, chair of the Professional Rugby Board, called the signing “a significant step forward in our plans for the future of Welsh rugby.”
She said the “collaborative way” negotiations had been conducted was “hugely encouraging, given the future challenges facing our game both globally and in Wales.”
Scarlets executive chairman Simon Muderack said the deal was “another important milestone as we build the next chapter in Scarlets’ proud 150-year history.”
“With certainty for the next two years, we can accelerate the significant progress already underway on and off the field and move forward with confidence,” he said.
All four Welsh clubs will start the new United Rugby Championship season in September.
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