We’ve already seen a number of articles and radio discussions about which code reigns supreme after Vlandys made some remarks on the matter in Vegas. You can see those linked below
- The season delivered extraordinary performance outcomes for rugby league, cementing our now established position as Australia’s — and the Pacific’s — No.1 sport,” Commission chair V’landys said in a statement.
- SEN League with Whately and Voss
- AFL 360 – Graeme Swann – “‘It’s not right, so that’s the thing that peeves us’
- Zerohanger – Is NRL or AFL more successful in Australia?
We at Sportsindustry go into a little more depth here, You can see our 2024 edition of this is here – https://footyindustry.com/index.php/2025/03/07/afl-v-nrl-who-is-number-1
So lets get to it. Heres a quick summary
So lets get into the details.
Television
Straight off the bat, lets do the obvious. The raw data from the AFL and the NRL is based on “average ratings” accumulated over course of the season. Based on this data, and this data alone, the NRL wins the ratings war. (The NRL data includes NZ). Average ratings have been the broadcast ratings standard since 2001.
Reach has been put forward as a new standard by VOZ (Oztam) since 2023 – this favours total viewing over average audiences, and is championed by Channel 7, and addresses some objectors to Average Audience Evangelism.
The Alternative or “AFL view” is that they have more viewers by having a game that runs for a longer period of time, therefore broadcast time is a factor. AFL games on average have an average 20% greater reach or total viewing audience, and go for about 35%-40% longer in broadcast programming.
Its also worth noting that if average audience is determined by total audience/time, then an NRL audience of 1 million over 100 minutes, would show a greater average than a comparable audience over a longer period.
Its also worth noting that Roy Morgan surveys have the AFL ahead of the NRL for viewership
Attendance and Membership
AFL club membership in 2025 was 1.4 million, while attendance was 8.257m for the season. This is well ahead of the 4.623m attendance set by the NRL in 2025, while estimated membership for the rectangular code is around 400,000 (the league and clubs publish members irregularly).
Roy Morgan surveys also put the AFL way ahead on Attendance
Social Media
NRL clubs lead the AFL when it comes to social media, and by a hefty margin, dominating all measured platforms, except Twitter (X).
Support
Roy Morgan ask the question: Do you support an AFL, NRL or Aleague team
Participation
No question, the league leader here is…football – of the soccer variety. Ausplay data is clear. However between the AFL and NRL, its the AFL ahead here – even combining the various forms of Rugby league (note Ausplay didnt combine those numbers, we did).
Claimed numbers in reports
| Body | Claimed |
| Football | 1,938,910 |
| NRL | 1,120,000 |
| Cricket | 669,642 |
| AFL | 624,503 |
Its worth noting that both the AFL and Cricket were claiming huge million+ numbers up until recently, when they seem to have changed their counting methods, for which i assume they have removed a stack of double counted participants across junior, club and school programs.
Ausplay data is from the 2025 Survey
Revenue
By Revenue, the clubhouse leader here is the AFL with 1.203b in revenue for 2025, also leading with the biggest profit (65m) and the most assets (550m)
Note: net assets are used in the graph above.
The NRL have invested heavily in hotels, with 5 now in their portfolio across Brisbane and Sydney, while the AFL have invested in Marvel Stadium, Waverly Park, and owns 49% of Champion Data. The AFL is also 90% partners in Lumen8 Media, a media agency that sells and manages the LED signage at Marvel Stadium and the MCG.
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