Every NRL club’s commercial, membership and game-day revenue revealed in secret document

A secret NRL document has revealed the enormous financial gulf between the Broncos and their 16 premiership rivals. See the breakdown of every NRL club’s commercial revenue.

The Broncos financially dwarf their 16 rivals.

A secret NRL document has revealed the enormous financial gulf between the Brisbane Broncos and their 16 premiership rivals.

No club in the history of the game has become such a commercial powerhouse in every category of sponsorship, membership and marketing – leaving struggling Sydney clubs in their wake.

The Broncos are now earning double their nearest rival in commercial revenue and three times the amount of the Wests Tigers, the Cronulla Sharks, the Sea Eagles, the Warriors and the Dragons.

While Michael Maguire’s team might be struggling for consistency in 2025, last season they made a staggering $48.9 million in revenue from commercial deals – and that’s remarkably in a year they struggled, bombed out of the finals and sacked the coach.

This compares to the poor old Wests Tigers at $13.4 million and the Sharks at $14.4 million.

A breakdown of the figures reveals struggling Sydney based clubs are not even in the same ballpark and face a tough long-term future.

STADIUM HOSPITALITY

In corporate game-day hospitality alone, the Broncos make $5.7 million from Suncorp Stadium.

The Wests Tigers made just $600,000 playing out of Leichhardt Oval and Campbelltown with the occasional match at CommBank stadium.

It’s why chief executive Shane Richardson has previously threatened to abandon the traditional old suburban grounds to move to a more modern venue with better corporate facilities.

“We will play where we believe we can grow the Wests Tigers club,” Richardson said recently.

SCROLL DOWN TO SEE THE FULL BREAKDOWN OF EVERY CLUB’S FINANCES

The NRL document also reveals why the South Sydney Rabbitohs are so keen to get out of Accor Stadium.

The “Pride of the League’ made just $700,000 out of hospitality because the suites are outdated; there is little appeal for sponsors to entertain clients with 65,000 empty seats most weeks.

“This is why we have the desire to move to Allianz,” said CEO Blake Solly.

“The facilities at Accor have fallen a long way behind what the market expects.

“It’s a big issue for us when we look at the revenue Parramatta and the Cowboys are generating in new stadiums.”

Not all home grounds are created equal.

MEMBERSHIP

When the Dolphins entered the competition in 2023, they were supposed to be a threat to the Broncos and eat into their market. Hardly.

The Broncos now generate $9 million from membership sales while the average across the game is $3.2 million.

This is another area where the Wests Tigers are miles off the pace. They are 17th on the ladder from membership revenue with just $1.5 million, obviously the result of three straight wooden spoons.

The Titans are struggling in this area too on a competitive Gold Coast battleground against the Suns AFL team. They get just $1.7 million from membership sales.

Across the game the average membership revenue is up $600,000 per club from the previous year.

GAME DAY REVENUE

No surprise here in that the Cronulla Sharks are the wooden spooners in this category at a home ground that embarrassingly holds just 13,000 fans.

Last year they generated just $2.7 million in game-day revenue.

This compares to the Broncos ($11.9 million), Storm ($5 million) and the Dolphins ($4.9 million.)

Even the Manly Sea Eagles get a third of the Broncos’ revenue, despite the fact they sell out Brookvale Oval most weeks.

The Sharks face massive long-term issues. They have no plan in place for home ground improvements and the state and federal governments have no appetite to fund them.

They may have no choice but to move to a bigger venue if they are to compete financially with the likes of the Broncos, Panthers, Cowboys, Storm and Eels.

THE BRONCOS

Imagine if this club can ever win another title. They will annihilate their rivals in off-field results.

In three years their average home crowds have jumped from 29,594 to 40,879 – an increase of 38 percent. And this is with a team that hasn’t been winning.

Their membership over the same period has increased from 34,721 to 61,272 – that’s a 76.5 percent jump.

“We have the greatest members and fans in the country,” said CEO Dave Donaghy.

“The passion and energy they bring to Suncorp Stadium every home game is the foundation of our game day experience.

“As a club, we’ve worked hard to re-imagine our game day as more than 80 minutes, it’s a premium entertainment experience.

“Bringing in big-names artists and elevating the spectacle has helped us create something really special and the team here at the Broncos takes great pride in delivering a world-class experience.

The Broncos fan base continues to soar. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“We want to continue to raise the bar for sports and entertainment here in Australia and everyone across the club will have a role to play in that.”

And he insists the growth will continue.

“The more we grow, the more we are able to reinvest back into our football programs as we chase our seventh premiership,” he said.

“We recently made two key additions to our NRL support staff and the NRLW program will only get bigger in time.”

Brisbane’s wealth explains why the club can afford to pay global brand giant Interbrand $300,000 to design a new logo for the club.

Or to hire a crisis and reputation PR expert like Grant Williams to protect the club’s image.

FAIR HANDOUTS

The AFL has a fairer system to rectify the financial imbalance and domination of the richer clubs.

Whereas each NRL club gets a $17 million annual grant, the AFL ensures the weaker franchises get more from head office in the yearly handouts.

As an example, the GWS Giants and the Gold Coast Suns were each given $34 million last year by the AFL because they can’t compete with the wealthier clubs in sponsorship, marketing and crowds.

Richmond had a turnover of $125 million and received a grant of only $15 million. The West Coast Eagles also got $15 million because they are such a financial powerhouse.

Originally published as Every NRL club’s commercial, membership and game-day revenue revealed in secret document