The regular season was followed by a three-round playoff starting in May that involved the top six teams, culminating in the final on June 4 at Stade de France.

During the season, Stade Français faced major financial issues, temporarily avoiding an administrative relegation in early June 2011 when president Max Guazzini announced a deal in which a Canadian foundation, working with former France national coach Bernard Laporte and an unnamed investor, would purchase a minority stake in the club.

[1] However, the planned infusion of €12 million did not materialize; Guazzini and Laporte sued the foundation, and three people had been arrested in connection with the deal as of June 24.

On June 27, Guazzini met with the LNR's financial watchdog, DNACG, to discuss the club's situation.

Reports indicated that if the club did not find €6.6 million by the time of the meeting, Stade would file for bankruptcy, which would result in an automatic relegation to the nominally amateur Fédérale 1.

[2] The meeting ended with the announcement of a new deal by which Guazzini would sell a controlling stake in the club to a group of investors led by French technology executive Jean-Pierre Savare, keeping Stade in the Top 14 and confirming La Rochelle's relegation.

As part of the deal, Guazzini stepped aside as club president in favor of Savare's son Thomas.

Montpellier went from fighting for survival through much of 2009–10 to finalists this season, winning their quarterfinal and semifinal matches away by 1 point each, and leading Toulouse for most of the final before falling short.

The other newly promoted team in 2009–10, Racing Métro, enjoyed a very successful season, finishing sixth, and qualified to the quarter-finals where they narrowly lost to eventual champions Clermont.

This means that if a club finishes in the top six and wins one of the European competitions, the seventh-place team will gain a Heineken Cup berth.

[9] France's bonus point system operates as follows:[9] This season was the first in French rugby history to have a fixed salary cap.

Moriarty also added that clubs would likely find ways around the cap, noting, "Last season [2008–09], it's rumoured that one big, overseas name was paid less than 40% of his total income as a salary.

"[10] LNR also announced new rules requiring a minimum percentage of French players on team rosters.

[11] A change in French tax law that took effect on 1 July 2010 raised concerns about the financial future of smaller clubs.

This portion of the salary was thus exempt from France's high employment and social insurance taxes, allowing French clubs to compete on a more equal financial footing with those in other European countries.

Mourad Boudjellal of Toulon, who claimed that the change in the law would cost him more than €1 million in 2010–11, and Paul Goze of Perpignan took to the pitch before one of their matches to participate in a protest.

Bourgoin, who only avoided a bankruptcy filing in 2009 by players agreeing to large wage cuts, faced an effective increase of €400,000 in their 2010–11 expenses.

[15] However, the FFR officially rescinded the DNACG's ruling on July 9, allowing Bourgoin to stay in the Top 14, thus also confirming Albi's place in Pro D2.