Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL) competition has announced a new two-year deal with the Australia and New Zealand arm of sportswear, sports-fashion, and apparel retailer JD Sports.
The deal, which will run across the 2025 and 2026 seasons, will see JD Sports ANZ become the official sports retail partner of the NRL.
The pair will collaborate with JD branding and products visible across the NRL, and NRL presence at JD Sports stores in Australia and New Zealand, of which there are over 60 across the two territories.
This partnership was hinted at across the NRL’s Grand Final week 2024, with NRL players and staff sporting JD Sports branded apparel.
In addition, JD Sports ANZ also becomes the presenting partner of the league’s annual season-opening showpiece fixtures in Las Vegas, US, which will next take place March 1, 2025.
Andrew Abdo, NRL chief executive, has said: “The partnership represents an opportunity for the NRL to work with a global sports brand to build our connection to youth culture and capitalize on the brand’s influence in the US.”
JD Sports has over 250 US locations.
The NRL has committed to stage games in Las Vegas at the 65,000-capacity Allegiant Stadium, and the first edition took place at the beginning of the 2024 campaign with a double-header of the Manly Sea Eagles vs. the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Brisbane Broncos vs. the Sydney Roosters playing back to back on March 2. That event drew in a crowd of over 40,000.
Named the Rugby League Las Vegas festival, the 2025 edition will also feature a fixture from England’s Super League, with the Wigan Warriors facing the Warrington Wolves.
The Penrith Panthers, New Zealand Warriors, Canberra Raiders, and Cronulla Sharks will also compete in next year's event along with England and Australia Women who will feature in a test match between the two nations as part of a four-game slate on the day.
In terms of recent NRL commercial activity, last month the league announced a new sponsorship deal with Red Bull, the Austrian energy drinks giant.
