The NRL has a money problem

Peter V'Landys never misses a chance to remind us that rugby league is the greatest game of all. Record crowds, record ratings, and record revenues. But what the NRL chairman's sanguine financial narrative omits is that for four years running, the game's cost base has been gaining on its revenues.

According to the Australian Rugby League Commission's (ARLC's) own audited financial statements, over the four years to FY25 its revenue grew from $593.8 million to $845.6 million – a 9.2 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Payments to clubs and players grew from $293.1 million to $466.4 million over the same period – a 12.3 per cent CAGR. Factor in payments to states, affiliates, international, and development, and the total flowing back to the game's stakeholders mushroomed from $366.2 million to $562.3 million – an 11.3 per cent CAGR. As a share of revenue, those payments stand at 66.5 cents in every dollar.[[Stakeholder payments – the sum of "Clubs and Players," and "States, affiliates, international," and "Development" line items in the ARLC's audited accounts – totalled $366.2 million in FY22 (61.7 per cent of revenue) and $562.3 million by FY25 (66.5 per cent of revenue).]]

Clearly undeterred, the ARLC has approved two new teams: the Perth Bears, a Frankenstein-esque reimagination of the North Sydney club after two decades on the proverbial slab; and the Papua New Guinea Chiefs, a franchise bankrolled by $600 million of Australian taxpayer dollars and based in one of the most dangerous cities on earth.