The NRL has topped $700m in revenue for the first time ever amid bumper profits and TV numbers

Peter V’landys has $700m reasons to smile after rugby league reported the biggest year of revenue in the game’s history.

Andrew Abdo and Peter V'landys at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The NRL has flexed its considerable financial muscle ahead of a historic opening round in Las Vegas revealing revenue topped $700 million for the first time in 2023 amid the greatest influx of cash in rugby league’s 116-year history.

As players headed to the US the latest figures revealed at the annual general meeting on Wednesday morning paint a glowing picture of the work done by ARLC chief Peter V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo in the fight to be Australia’s No.1 sport.

Among the extraordinary results, the NRL’s total revenue reached a record $701.1 million, up more than $100m on the previous year with the league recording a $58m profit and a huge increase in assets after the recent purchase of two hotels.

“(The figures) have enabled us to now be in the best financial position the game has ever been in, with net assets of $260 million,” V’landys said on Wednesday.

“And that’s very important, because during COVID we were three-to-four months from being insolvent.

“That means that we wouldn’t be able to pay our bills, if we hadn’t started on May 28 (2020), and the game would not be in the position it’s in.

Other figures included in the revelations were:

* The NRL now boasts net assets in excess of $260 million, not including recent acquisitions the 81-room Mercure Sunshine Coast Kawana Waters hotel and Quest Hotel at Woolooware Bay.

* The NRL delivered record distributions of $447 million to stakeholders, with players receiving a record $216.3m.

* Rugby league is now Australia’s most-watched sport with total viewership of 171.8 million, up 14 per cent from 150.6m in 2022.

Peter V'landys, Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission and Andrew Abdo, Chief Executive Officer of the NRL (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

While the players received a big piece of the financial pie, the 17 NRL clubs also received $98.2 million, a 33 per cent increase with investment in participation and pathways rose up to $82.8m last season.

The NRL has also now got a strong claim to be the most viewed TV sport in Australia with a cumulative viewership of 93.2 million, up 2.4 per cent from the previous year, compared to the AFL’s 91 million total viewers. The figures were derived from 213 NRL matches and 216 AFL games.

V’landys couldn’t help himself, firing another shot in the cross-code war.

“To be honest, we are already the No.1 sport. AFL is No.2,” V’landys said.

“They are behind us - despite what they think.

“In terms of viewing figures, we are No.1, you can’t dispute that.

“Look, the AFL has a national footprint and I respect them, they do a very good job at promoting their sport.

“I like the fact they are doing a great job because it makes us want to compete and get better.

“They know we are around and we will keep them honest.”

It’s a significant statement which comes in stark contrast to Rugby Australia needing an $80 million loan to keep rugby union afloat, and after the NRL was close to insolvency during the Covid shutdown in 2020.

“When I first got on the commission, we were looking at two clubs actually going broke,” V’landys said.

“We believe that the funding they were getting was inequitable.

“I’m happy to say now that every club is in the best financial position they’ve been. And that’s because we have given them distributions on top of $98.2 million.”

Originally published as The NRL has topped $700m in revenue for the first time ever amid bumper profits and TV numbers