With clubs reflecting on the 2021 NRL season in preparation for the 2022 season, here are all the latest commercial partnerships from around the league.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs have announced a three-year partnership with Sportemon Go, seeing the Rabbitohs potentially become Australia’s first club to release a selection of NFTs and a dedicated fan token program, with the program to release in 2022.
Sportemon Go have been named an associate partner and the official NFT collectible and fan token (cryptocurrency) partner of the club in the deal, which was arranged by Pickstar, with Sportemon Go set to create digital collections, memorabilia, and augmented reality activities for the Rabbitohs.
Rabbitohs CEO, Blake Solly, said the club is eager to activate these new digital tools to increase engagement with their supporter base.
“At the Rabbitohs we pride ourselves on being a bold and innovative club, and this opportunity alongside Sportemon Go is no exception,” Solly said.
“We can’t wait to kick off pre-releases of interactive products including tokenised merchandise collections and other digital memorabilia which brings our club’s rich history and story to life.
“It’s a fantastic new way for the club and players to build stronger relationships with our members, not just through the season but either side of it too,” he said.
Elsewhere in the league, the Gold Coast Titan have named MyPayNow as principal partner of the club, with the fintech company to feature on the front of the Titans jerseys for both the NRL and NRLW.
Titans CEO, Steve Mitchell, said: “As a club we are determined to bring premierships back to the Coast, and to have a brand that is so aligned with us feature on the front of our jersey on this journey is very exciting.”
“Like us, MyPayNow are young and innovative as a brand.
“They’ve revolutionised how people get paid and as a company they are growing nationally at speed.
“While we’re determined to have success on-field, we’re also determined to be commercial Titans off the field and that involves partnering with likeminded companies.
“MyPayNow are definitely that and while as Titans we can help bring a new audience to their brand, their investment is truly a partnership that is driven around success.
“I want to thank Bronson (MyPayNow CEO, Bronson Powe) and the entire MyPayNow team for their belief in what we are building on the Coast and we look forward to growing and sharing in successes on and off the field with them over the coming seasons,” Mitchell said.
The Bulldogs have announced a new partnership with Birrong Boys High School with the plan to deliver a pilot program for wellbeing Zoom session in the hopes of improving the wellbeing of young people and social connectivity of students to address the impacts of lockdown and mental health.
Meanwhile, the Sharks have announced an extension of their community partnership with Indigenous preventative health organisation, Deadly Choices, extending on a partnership which began in 2018.
The program will continue to aim to connect the club to local Indigenous communities and align with the Sharks Have Heart’s programs under the pillar of inclusivity and diversity.
