Why Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton’s bid for NRL player jersey names could be a false dawn

Canterbury boss Aaron Warburton wants to put Bulldogs players on the map by having their names on the back of jerseys but the push is facing multiple hurdles before getting clearance from the NRL.

A push to have player names on the back of jerseys is unlikely to get off the ground unless the proposal receives support from all 17 NRL clubs.

Canterbury CEO Aaron Warburton is urging the NRL to consider the idea but the Bulldogs boss is facing an uphill battle to get the proposal over the line.

Warburton revealed on Monday that the Bulldogs were close to finalising their Las Vegas submission, which includes a move for the surnames of Bulldogs players on the back of jerseys if the club is one of the four teams to open the 2026 season in America.

“It’s about pushing the boundaries … It’s about us putting the Bulldogs on the map,” Warburton told SEN.

“We’re actually talking with the NRL at the moment because we think it’s the perfect moment to implement surnames on the back of jerseys.

“Something as simple as that we think will really engage the fans.

“There’s a lot of chat online, particularly with our fanbase, around why they can’t see a Burton or Kikau or Mahoney on the backs of jerseys with their number.

“The stats say they want it, and we’re really open to it. It’d be a discussion for us and all the clubs and in particular the top-of-jersey sponsor to negotiate what that would look like to make way for the surname.”

This masthead understands the NRL is open to the idea but it is likely to face multiple hurdles including commercial issues and the lack of game-wide consensus.

It’s understood the NRL will only give the idea serious consideration if it can be made standard across the game, meaning the Bulldogs, as a stand-alone club, are unlikely to have the proposal approved by the governing body.

For it to be standard practice, clubs need to be willing to potentially forgo, or reduce the size, of its back of jersey sponsor to accommodate the player name.

While Warburton concedes game-wide support might be hard to come by, he believes there is a test case for names to be on jerseys used in showpiece events like Las Vegas, which could be used as a “guinea pig” for the idea.

Warburton said the club would work with any sponsor affected by the proposal to ensure the value of the sponsorship is not reduced by the move.

Cult Bulldogs hero Craig Polla-Mounter dons his surname on Canterbury’s Super League jersey.

“We’ve started some of the conversations internally and the metrics behind it,” Warburton said.

“We don’t want to approach any particular sponsor with, ‘This is how we are going to diminish your brand awareness’.

“Some of the early research has suggested it will actually amplify it just in terms of the amount of interest and eyeballs on that space.

“The size of the logo, anything you do with that by reducing it will reduce the value of it.

“But we think there is a lot more to valuing a sponsor logo than just eyeballs. If you are enhancing the match day experience, it could be 10-fold exposure but just in a different way.”

While it is standard for a player’s name to appear above their number in football and basketball competitions around the world, it hasn’t been a common sight in rugby league since the late 1990s.

Origin stars have their name embellished on the back of their NSW and Queensland jerseys. Super League teams did so in 1997 and Melbourne Storm wore player names during the club’s inaugural season in 1998.

Fans can already add their own name or the name of their favourite player on the back of a jersey but at an extra cost.

Originally published as Why Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton’s bid for NRL player jersey names could be a false dawn