But this isn’t simply a league expanding its territory; PNG’s new team has geopolitics running through the centre of it. The deal explicitly curbs China’s Pacific influence; a heightened issue after China signed its 2022 security agreement with the Solomon Islands. The deal is directly tied to regional alignment – PNG is restricted from entering into security agreements with any country outside the “Pacific Family.” Should Australia assess that PNG has breached this condition, funding for the team would be withdrawn, triggering the NRL to remove the franchise from the competition.

It’s a clear reminder that in today’s sporting landscape, the commercial value of sporting properties can’t be assessed in a vacuum.  The tangible value within deals is widely agreed upon, but intangible values are at the heart of almost all of the biggest deals in sport today. The strategic aims of stakeholders, economic markets, current geo-political landscape – these are likely to have a larger influence on deal value than simply engagement rates.

Our model has been adopted by UEFA, the Premier League and various other organisations to establish a framework for evaluating sponsorship value in relation to financial fair play processes across the sporting sector.  Platformation is trusted by the world’s leading clubs, rights holders and brands investing in sponsorship, across the realms of sport and entertainment.  Contact us today to discover how we can help you understand and optimise the value of your deals.

Interesting Facts about Rugby League:

1.4 Million people from across five countries are following the Australian National Rugby League.

In comparison, 1.2 Million people from across five countries are following the Super League, the only other professional Rugby League competition apart from the NRL. Super League is a Northern Hemisphere Rugby League competition.

The NRL Women’s Premiership has a followership of just short of 800k.

Analysed countries were Australia, France, Italy, Japan and the UK.