Rugby league-NRL trumps AFL with $3.7 billion rights deal

NRL trumps AFL with a historic A$5.3 billion ($3.68 billion) media rights deal, a step up that reshapes Australia’s winter sports broadcasting landscape. The seven-year agreement runs from 2028 to 2034 and was announced by the National Rugby League on Tuesday with Nine Entertainment, Foxtel and Sky NZ. It is a major increase from the prior five-year package worth about A$2 billion with the same partners. The NRL’s CEO Peter V’landys said the contract “future-proofs the game” for decades and is designed to grow the sport both domestically and globally. The NRL also positions itself above the AFL’s A$4.5 billion deal for 2025-2031 with Seven Network and Foxtel. Nine will broadcast three free-to-air games weekly and will carry exclusive rights to the annual State of Origin series. Foxtel is set to pay about A$520 million annually for all matches except the season-ending Grand Final.