Peter V’landys shakes off retirement talk, reveals $1 billion revenue goal

He guided the NRL back from the brink of bankruptcy and dethroned the AFL from its perch as Australia’s most watched sport, but Peter V’landys says he has much more he wants to achieve yet.

Peter V’landys says he isn’t ready to walk away from rugby league, declaring he has “unfinished business” as the ARL Commission boss considers another term in his blueprint to make the NRL a $1 billion sport.

V’landys has opened up about his future amid mounting speculation the veteran administrator is set to resign from either the ARLC chairmanship or his other role as the boss of Racing NSW.

V’landys has presided over a remarkable renaissance for rugby league, taking the NRL from the brink of bankruptcy during Covid in 2020 to record revenue of $744 million.

But even V’landys himself has previously spoken of the pressures of juggling the demands of being ARLC chair with the Racing NSW chief executive’s role he has held for the past 21 years.

Last year, V’landys was reappointed as ARL Commission chairman for another term until the end of 2026.

He says he will reassess his future by Christmas this year, but has given the strongest indication yet he will commit to another term for 2027 and beyond as ‘PVL’ looks to steer the NRL through another period of record growth.

Chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission Peter V'landys has no plans to step from his role. Picture: John Appleyard

‘EVERYONE IS ASKING ME ABOUT MY FUTURE’

“The one thing I will say is I don’t want to walk away from rugby league,” V’landys said.

“I have too much unfinished business.

“It would be hard for me to go now because the job has to be finished.

“I’ve put my heart and soul and blood, sweat and tears into the NRL and I want to make sure the right result comes out of it.

“Everyone is asking me about my future.

“I wait until the end of the year during the Christmas break and then I plan my next year, that’s what I do.

“I have done that for six years and I have done both jobs for six years.

“At some point, naturally, I will leave one or the other, or both roles.

“Sometimes I become refreshed and I look forward to doing both jobs the following year.

“I haven’t made a final call yet, but there’s so much still to do with rugby league.”

Since his appointment as ARLC chair in October 2019, V’landys has turned the NRL into a fiscal juggernaut.

ARLC chairman Peter V'landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo were the masterminds behind the Las Vegas expansion.

UNPRECEDENTED REVENUE DELIVERED

When he stepped up to the ARLC throne, the code had no money in the bank, no assets and, seemingly, a grim future, with the NRL just months away from going broke during the global Covid pandemic.

Fast forward four years and the NRL has dethroned the AFL as the most-watched sport in Australia.

A qualified accountant, V’landys has slashed costs to deliver unprecedented revenue and has also executed an investment strategy that has given the NRL a net-asset portfolio in excess of $320 million.

Even AFL types concede they are envious of the NRL’s extravagant Las Vegas concept that has seen rugby league launch their 2024 and 2025 seasons in Sin City.

V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo have also fast-tracked expansion. The Dolphins were born in 2023 and V’landys is ready to generate billions for the NRL via a new TV rights deal as the code closes in on a proposed 19-team competition involving the Perth Bears and Papua New Guinea, the latter of whom will enter the league in 2028.

Famed for his work ethic and ferocious drive, V’landys admits he would become bored without the passion project of the NRL.

‘I WANT TO KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING’

“We’ve got record revenue and ratings and we’re targeting $1 billion in revenue,” V’landys said.

“I have never waned in my passion for rugby league.

“I could sit back and do nothing.

“I could actually coast along with rugby league and racing for that matter, but that’s not me.

“If I’m in there, I’m losing blood for the person I’m working for.

“I’m fighting to make the NRL and racing better and I can’t change who I am.

“Because I am like that, naturally it takes its toll, because when you are juggling two roles, you are losing blood with both jobs.

“I can’t go to the Red Cross all the time.

“I want to make sure more is achieved in rugby league. That is the driving force for me.

“We have got record ratings and figures this year, we’ve had expansion, Vegas has been a brilliant success and we’re going to territories we haven’t been before with PNG and the Pacific.

“I want to keep the momentum going.”