How Tom Brady could join NRL’s prime time party in Las Vegas | Locker Room

The NRL and Fox Sports are poised to strike a broadcast agreement to showcase rugby league to an audience reach of 72.4 million homes in America. And Tom Brady could be involved, writes DAVID RICCIO.

The NRL is coming to Las Vegas in 2024.

Tom Brady sharing his thoughts on Reece Walsh.

Don’t laugh, it could be on the cards.

The NRL and Fox Sports are poised to strike a broadcast agreement that will provide rugby league with a shot at showcasing the game to the largest audience in the code’s history.

The deal is on the verge of being ratified which will see US pay television channel Fox Sports 1 broadcast the NRL’s historic 2024 season kick-off in Las Vegas on March 2 to a potential audience reach of 72.4 million homes in America.

Walsh’s Broncos, the Rabbitohs, Roosters and Sea Eagles are the four clubs headed to Vegas for what will be year-one of a five-year plan by the NRL to take even the smallest of bites into the huge US market.

The work going on behind the scenes from the NRL and all four clubs to captivate a new audience, and most importantly more sponsorships and funding back into the game, is like nothing the game has previously attempted.

Brady is just one example of how high the game is reaching.

The greatest NFL quarterback of all-time will enter Fox Sports’ broadcast booth at the beginning of 2024 after agreeing to a 10-year, $A545m contract with Fox last year.

NRL executives are planning to discuss with Fox Sports the prospect of Brady, a magnet for even the most casual of sports fans, being part of the NRL season kick-off coverage, in any shape or form.

NRL executives are planning to discuss with Fox Sports the prospect of Tom Brady being part of the NRL season kick-off coverage. Picture: Getty Images

Brady is just one cog in ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys come-with-me or get-left-behind mission to expose the greatest game of all to an American audience that even if they know nothing about rugby league, are enamoured by Australians.

“On the phone to America, when we’re organising this, you don’t ever really have a bad phone call,’’ an NRL employee told this column.

“They’re like, “Oh my god, Australians, sports, yes please.’’ The enthusiasm for it is incredible. Nobody ever says no.’’

Of course, V’landys is no stranger to thinking big.

In 2018, V’landys, in his other hat as Racing NSW boss, brought controversy to Sydney by projecting The Everest barrier draw onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House.

What followed were eight straight days of national and international coverage with 7,523 media reports mentioning the issue on radio, television, in print and online.

Additionally, the coverage had a cumulative potential Twitter reach of almost 57 million people.

The NRL and the clubs are going to the US with a plan to pinch a spot on NFL prime time, take out column inches in the LA Times and sit down with the most popular sports shows.

The NRL’s ability to tell their story — both here and in the US — is paramount.

ARL Commission chair Peter V'landys recently visited Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas as part of their preparation to bring the NRL to the United States next year. Credit: Supplied.

The scheduling of the historic double-header on US channel Fox Sports 1 adds immediate credibility to the NRL.

While the order of the games for the double-header are yet to be determined, they will be played at 6.30pm and 8.30pm (US local time) on a Saturday night.

That’s prime time, baby.

With no NFL or Major League Baseball on at that time, the NRL has at the very least, a rare opportunity to attract fresh eyes on Fox’s main sports channel.

The end goal for the NRL is that this is the channel where rugby league will live, not only over the course of the five year-deal, but forever.

At the moment, rugby league is aired in the US on Fox’s subsidiary channel, Fox Soccer Plus.

Three matches from every NRL round are telecast each week.

The elevation up the channel chain to Fox Sports 1 is both unprecedented and financially alluring.

Taking into account the commercial opportunities that will extend from rugby league being available to 72.4 million homes, industry experts have advised this column that across five years, the NRL could generate half a billion dollars in revenue for the game.

And that’s a lot of money to pour back into the areas that need it most, like country footy and grassroots.