NRL Las Vegas 2025: Home and away payments for clubs to play in USA revealed

NRL clubs who take a home game to Las Vegas in 2025 will be handsomely compensated. Four favourites to land round 1 gig, when they’ll play and how much each club gets paid to go.

Four clubs – Penrith, Warriors, Cronulla and Canberra – have emerged as the frontrunners to play in Las Vegas next season with some of their rivals pulling out of the event.

It is understood the quartet of clubs were joined by another four – St George Illawarra, Dolphins, Parramatta and Melbourne – to receive the participation agreement from the NRL.

After going through the document, the Dolphins and Dragons are not expected to put their hand up to partake in the Las Vegas double-header to kick-start the 2025 season.

Parramatta are also reluctant given they will have a new coach, with the Eels expected to make a formal decision on Las Vegas by the end of this weekend.

Clubs have to formally reply to the NRL’s proposal by Tuesday for the matches which are scheduled to be played on March 1.

The NRL will return tot Allegiant Stadium in 2025. Picture: David Becker

Meanwhile, the Storm – who were once the hot favourites to land a spot – are now unlikely, leaving the Panthers, Cronulla, Warriors and Canberra in the box-seat.

The term sheet includes a $350,000 payment to the home team and $50,000 for the away side. The Warriors will only travel as the away side while Penrith, Cronulla and Canberra are prepared to give up a home game. The Panthers’ home base will be under construction.

It means James Fisher-Harris’ first game for the Warriors could be against the Panthers.

The NRL also told clubs they will fully fund eight days worth of accommodation in Las Vegas. The NRL funded six days for the four teams who competed in 2024.

Manly were the only team who stayed in Las Vegas for the entirety of their trip. South Sydney, the Roosters and Brisbane spent time preparing across the west coast.

The NRL would contribute to the club’s funding should they want to shift their training base elsewhere within those eight days.

Fans gather for the NRL season launch at Fremont Street Experience in 2024. Picture: AFP

The NRL want to make a decision by the end of this month so they can start selling tickets to the event.

Complicating matters for the NRL is a desire to have a, NRLW fixture as part of the weekend. However, NRLW players would be in their off-season, meaning they’d need to be given a short-term contract and come back to training to play in an exhibition game.

The NRL are also working on two Super League sides competing in a club game.

Newcastle, Canterbury and North Queensland were other clubs who had initially expressed an interest in travelling to the US but pulled out for a host of reasons.

WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS WON’T STAY IN VEGAS

The NRL are contemplating a fly-on-the-wall documentary as part of their Las Vegas expedition.

Those teams wanting to play in the USA in 2025 would need to make themselves available for filming during their pre-season training and while in America.

It is believed the NRL is yet to put in place firm plans to film a documentary, but they want to ensure the clubs are on board should they head down that path.

Sporting documentaries have become the flavour of the month for broadcasting networks and there is no doubt an intimate look at the NRL’s Vegas launch would help offset the cost of taking teams to America.

The Dolphins and Penrith have both commissioned documentaries in recent years – the Dolphins to film their entry to the competition and the Panthers as part of their 2022 and 2023 premiership campaigns.

The NRL now wants a piece of the action as they look to cash in on one of their big events. Having tried and failed to get Queensland and NSW to agree to lift the curtain on State of Origin, they want to make sure there are no roadblocks should they choose to give fans an intimate view of their Vegas adventure.

Hence the plan to ensure any club that agrees to head to Vegas is well aware that they will need to lift the curtain and give unfettered access to documentary makers.

It is understood the plan is unlikely to be met with any resistance by the clubs expected to be involved in Vegas, leaving the NRL to find a broadcast partner to finance the venture.

Originally published as NRL Las Vegas 2025: Home and away payments for clubs to play in USA revealed