‘I have not made up my mind’ – V’landys still considering future at Racing NSW as he basks in $5.3 billion NRL TV rights deal

Peter V’landys says he is still weighing up whether to quit his role in racing administration to run rugby league in Australia after playing a key role in the NRL’s $5.3 billion TV rights deal.   

The long-time Racing NSW chief executive fronted a press conference on Tuesday to confirm the NRL had reached a record TV deal with incumbent broadcasters Foxtel, its streaming service Kayo, and the Nine Network.

Speaking as chair of the Australian Rugby League Commission, V’landys said his “whole and total focus” in recent months had been on achieving the $5.3 billion broadcast agreement which sets the game up for the “20 to 50 years”.

The seven-year agreement, which sees the Nine Network retain the free-to-air rights and exclusive rights to show the men’s and women’s State of Origin matches and the grand final, will come into effect at the end of the 2027 NRL season.

V’landys is due to become interim executive chair of the NRL on July 15, when the code’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo, leaves to take on the top role at Tennis Australia.

When Adbo’s resignation after six years at the NRL was announced on May 25, V’landys revealed he had been granted permission by the Racing NSW board to take four months’ long-service leave to run rugby league.

Asked about his future at Tuesday’s press conference, which was also attended by Abdo, Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany and the Nine Network’s equivalent Matt Stanton, V’landys said: “Look, I’ll be quite candid with you, I have not made up my mind. 

“Like I said, I’ll give the game four months to look at it and see what I’m going to do, and in that first two months I’ll make a decision. 

“Up until (now), my whole and total focus has been on this broadcast deal.”

V’landys’ answer did nothing to quell ongoing speculation that he would permanently seek the executive chair role as head of the NRL on a full-time basis and depart Racing NSW after more than two decades.

Media reports resurfaced last week suggesting that V’landys had the support of the majority of NRL clubs to change the constitution to allow him to take on the all-encompassing position, on the proviso that there was a fixed-term limit.

The Daily Telegraph also recently reported that V’landys could be appointed executive chair without contravening the NRL’s constitution, as the role would fall under the Australian Rugby League Commission.

Given the magnitude of the NRL’s record television broadcast deal, V’landys also pondered aloud on Tuesday whether there was more to achieve at the helm of rugby league in Australia.

“Well, one of the cons for me is I’ve done everything I can in the game. I think, in the last five years, with Andrew (Abdo) and myself, we’ve turned the game into a $5.3 billion empire,” he said. 

“And what else is there to achieve? And so that crosses my mind, naturally, because why try to write another chapter when you’ve written a book? 

“And that line actually comes from Gill McLachlan, from the FLA (sic) (former AFL and now Tabcorp CEO).

“He wants me out of racing. He said, ‘mate, you’ve done the chapter, get out of racing so TAB can win a few’. But I’ll make that decision in two months.

“A lot can change between now and then, but all I know is that it’s going to be very, very hard to replace Andrew Abdo.”

McLachlan is in the final throes of delivering on his promise of a national tote, with Tabcorp believed to be only awaiting on NSW – and V’landys – to sign off on the deal that would merge UTAB, SuperTAB and NSWTAB parimutuel pools into one.

Racing NSW chief operating officer Graeme Hinton is set to act as the thoroughbred regulator’s CEO in V’landys’ absence from July 15. 

Hinton is considered by some pundits as the favourite to win the role on an ongoing basis if V’landys elects to tackle rugby league administration full-time.

The NSW Thoroughbred Racing Act, which governs Racing NSW, is currently under review by former state health minister Brad Hazzard, with his report and recommendations set to be handed down in the coming months.

Securing the NRL free-to-air broadcast rights will cost the Nine Network $145 million annually, offset by $10 million in committed advertising spend by the NRL, as well as an additional $15 million in contra advertising to be televised by the network.

“This hasn’t been an accident. This has been achieved by some very hard work,” V’landys said. 

“In the past five years we have changed the game, effectively doubling the audience.”