News Corp chair
Lachlan Murdoch will be the guest of honour at the NRL’s season-opening double-header in Las Vegas — and officials are banking on him dragging along NFL legend
Tom Brady as his plus one.
Apart from being a diehard Brisbane Broncos fan, Murdoch is a close friend of ARL Commission chairman
Peter V’landys, who is rolling out the red carpet for News’ top brass, including chief executive
Robert Thomson and Foxtel Australia boss
Patrick Delany.
A News spokesman insisted Murdoch had not invited Brady, but the NRL certainly hopes he can convince the legendary quarterback to come along.
Seven-time Super Bowl winner Brady will join NFL on Fox next season as their No.1 analyst on a 10-year deal reportedly worth $US375 million ($570 million).
He’s been in Australia this week on a speaking tour, including an event in Brisbane attended by Broncos players.
His thunderbolt pass from the stage to fullback
Reece Walsh on the run has gone viral.
After being in BrisVegas, it won’t surprise if Brady pops up in the VIP suite at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on March 3 (AEDT) when the Broncos play the Roosters and Souths take on Manly.
Tom Brady would make an impressive plus-one for Lachlan Murdoch at the NRL’s double-header in Las Vegas. CREDIT: AP, GETTY IMAGES
The NRL has struggled to attract any real celebrities to the double-header so far, including Rabbitohs co-owner
Russell Crowe (who will be shooting a movie in Europe) and Sea Eagles superfan
Hugh Jackman (who is unavailable).
Expect Crowe, though, to channel Maximus when voicing the NRL’s marketing campaign when it launches in the US in the coming days.
It’s no surprise that V’landys wants News’ most important people on hand to witness the historic event given his long-standing relationship with the media company.
Fox Sports 1 will broadcast the matches in the US while the NRL has given Fox Sports Australia exclusive rights to the first game between Manly and Souths.
The NRL’s attempt to gain a foothold in the US in 2024 is not the first.CREDIT: NRL PHOTOS
In doing so, the NRL has angered free-to-air broadcaster Channel Nine (publisher of this masthead), which will simulcast the second game with Fox Sports.
The NRL argues it’s created an additional round to the home-and-away season, therefore giving Nine an additional match.
Nevertheless, handing Fox exclusive rights to the first game of the season has created tension between the NRL and its long-time broadcast partner. We can only imagine how some fans will react on the day when they plop down on the beanbag for the season opener only to discover it’s behind a paywall.
Nine Entertainment Co chief executive
Mike Sneesby has been invited to the double-header and will attend, a spokeswoman confirmed.
Last week,
this column broke the news that the four participating clubs had demanded an urgent meeting with the NRL about concerns around visas, training fields, medical insurance, and rising costs.
The clubs met with V’landys last Thursday and then, on Monday morning, were pleasantly surprised to receive an avalanche of emails from NRL staff addressing their concerns.
Both Murdoch and V’landys declined to comment.