Newcastle managing director Mick Hogan is strongly opposed to demands by Saracens to increase the salary cap.

He also described a suggestion by Sarries boss Mark McCall that greater financial allowances should be made for homegrown players as a “non-starter”.

McCall has raised this issue because he is worried that his club could lose a number of their Lions stars when they come out of contract over the next two years. He says their agents are demanding much higher wages for players which may not be possible to accommodate within the existing £7 million cap.

McCall also hopes that a larger percentage of salaries for club-produced players can be outside the cap. This would allow Saracens hold onto home-grown talent such as Owen Farrell, who recently signed a new five-year contract.

On average, Premiership clubs are currently losing £15m-£20m every year. Falcons boss Hogan told The Rugby Paper: “For the health and long-term growth of the game until we have three-quarters of our clubs able to spend to the cap at a break-even position, it shouldn’t be considered.

“If you provide additional allowances for players you’re still increasing the amount that club is allowed to spend at a time when very few clubs are achieving profitability or even coming close.

“We’ve got to get the game continuing to grow but in a sustainable way – and increasing the salary cap, however you dress it up, won’t achieve that.”

Hogan also said: “The salary cap is already at a level where Newcastle and others can’t spend to it, so you should only look to move the cap up when nine out of the 12 clubs can do it, otherwise you’re just inflating salaries and pushing, even more, money the way of agents.

“The only two ways you could recoup the costs then is for the owners to put in more money, which for me is a non-starter because they already do enough, or you charge fans more for their tickets, which again is a non-starter because the sport will be less accessible.”