The NRL’s financial offer to Super League revealed as new broadcaster emerges in talks
Peter V'landys and the NRL remain in talks with Super League over potential investment
By Aaron Bower and Matt Shaw
Super League has been offered £7 million per year for 10 percent equity by the Australian Rugby League Commission as part of a deal that would see DAZN take four Super League games per week for nothing.
A meeting of Super League clubs took place on Thursday after the first formal offer was received following months of negotiations with the NRL.
Within the meeting, clubs were informed of the NRL’s proposal and the ongoing broadcast negotiations, which ARLC Chair Peter V’Landys has entered in recent weeks.
The NRL want to collaborate on a five year strategic partnership to unify the sport’s two major competitions and take Super League to a new level, with plans to enhance Super League commercially, financially and optically. It is part of a wider plan to globalise rugby league, with the competition seen as a key part in that process.
The proposal would see Sky Sports show three front-line games per week, an arrangement that had already been negotiated between the broadcaster and Rugby League Commercial, while DAZN would take the other four games for nothing.
In 2024, DAZN acquired Foxtel, who recently retained its rights to broadcast the NRL in a deal worth $5.3 billion. V’Landys is keen for Super League to also be shown on DAZN as part of an alignment strategy between the sport’s two major competitions.
However, sources suggest that hopes of getting more money out of Sky Sports and DAZN has not materialised for V’Landys as part of his plans for Super League, which has resulted in the latest proposal which has now been presented to clubs.
It was suggested to Love Rugby League that Premier Sports, who previously showed Championship rugby league, had emerged as a possible landing spot for the other four Super League games Sky were not showing. But DAZN has now emerged as the frontrunner and a likely crucial piece of the puzzle due to the NRL’s potential involvement in Super League.
Sources that have spoken to Love Rugby League have admitted that the deal presented is an underwhelming one that has fallen short of expectations, but there is also optimism that the offer can be negotiated into a more appealing proposition in the coming weeks.
Clubs will reconvene in a face-to-face meeting next Thursday to discuss further developments that are expected between now and then. Love Rugby League has been told there is an expectation senior officials from the NRL will arrive later this month to finalise a deal, providing clubs can reach a resolution.
While a small number of clubs are thought to be staunchly against the arrangement, others believe a collaboration with the NRL is essential for the future of the game and are buoyed by the fact a deal has now been put on the table.
Fundamentally, the level of control V’Landys wants over Super League is likely to be the deciding factor in whether a deal gets done or not. It is likely that the NRL will take an increased equity in Super League for each year of the partnership, building up to a possible 50 per cent ownership of the competition.
The NRL would also take up a significant portion of any independent commission that would be created in the event of a deal, giving them administrative control of the competition.