Following recent reports Channel Nine and the NRL were set to finalise a five-year, $600 million free-to-air broadcast partnership, there is reportedly a “considerable gap” between the expectations of the financial figure.

The Sydney Morning Herald’s Andrew Webster told SEN 1170 Mornings the pair are still likely to agree upon a free-to-air broadcast deal, with the NRL asking for $120 million per year for the rights.

“All of the major newspapers had it just days or weeks from being done,” Webster said.

“I spoke to sources at Channel Nine and the NRL, and I think there’s a considerable gap between what Nine wants to pay per year and what the NRL want to get.

“I’m told that it’s still some way off before it gets done.

“There’s a lot of negotiation and a lot of talk coming out of the NRL of Nine being too negative about how it covers the game.

“But at the end of the day it’s going to come down to money, and it always does.

“No one actually knows the size of the deal that the ARL cut with Fox Sports until the end of 2027,” he said.

Discussing Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) chairman, Peter V’landys, and his potential future in the position following the recent broadcast deal with Foxtel and the upcoming free-to-air deal, Webster said his job security could rely on the size of the deal.

“Every CEO and chairman in rugby league history has lived and died by the size of the TV deal,” Webster said.

“The fact that Fox deal hasn’t been revealed publicly to me says a lot, Peter V’landys is a survivor, he’s got a lot of supporters, but if the deal isn’t big enough and that cuts into the annual grant that the clubs get, then that’s going to start causing a little bit of drama,” he said.

The initially reported five-year, $600 million deal would be the NRL’s largest ever free-to-air broadcast deal.