Andrew Abdo has set out his key priorities for 2025, with rugby league's US expansion, the Indigenous All Stars fixture, upcoming broadcast negotiations and potential player contract reforms all on the agenda.

The NRL chief executive believes the game is heading in the right direction, but significant changes and challenges lie ahead.

The push into the American market remains at the forefront, with the second edition of the Las Vegas double-header shaping as a crucial step in growing the sport's global presence.

This year's event will go beyond NRL matches, featuring an Australia-England women's Test and an all-English Super League clash between Wigan and Warrington.

The league has reported that 35,000 tickets have already been sold, with approximately 25% of purchases coming from the US market.

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“It's huge, it's effectively opening rugby league up to a bigger audience than it has ever had and we've brought on new sponsors because of that and the Las Vegas event in general,” Abdo said, speaking with SMH.

“The reach of introducing fans who watch FOX free-to-air, to introduce them to the sport and get that exposure on a network channel, we'll see a much bigger US audience engaged and watching the NRL.”

Last year's NRL opener struggled for traction in the American market, with the Rabbitohs vs. Sea Eagles match drawing just 61,000 viewers and the Roosters vs. Broncos clash pulling in 44,000.

Those numbers were dwarfed by Australian figures of 838,000 and 1.57 million respectively.

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With this year's matches set to air on FOX, which reaches 125 million US households, the league is hopeful for a significant improvement.

“We've still got a month to go in terms of ticket sales, but we've sold out corporate inventory, brought on new sponsors, increased subscribers in America and made gains in global streaming rights,” Abdo said.

“The fact that we've expanded and have even more fans attending now is a good thing for a long-term strategy to take rugby league to the rest of the world.”

While Las Vegas is a long-term play, the league is facing more immediate concerns with the Indigenous All Stars fixture.

The NRL is reviewing the match's scheduling after another year of high-profile withdrawals, with the likes of Latrell Mitchell, Josh Addo-Carr, Cody Walker and Nicho Hynes all opting out.

“The All Stars will always be part of the calendar as far as I'm concerned, it is such an important match and week for the game,” Abdo said.

“We'll continue to look at when the best time to play it is, because in the last couple of years, [scheduling] has been difficult.”

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The timing of the fixture has led to player availability issues, and there has been increasing discussion about moving it to later in the year.

Some Indigenous players have pushed for it to align with the Koori Knockout, while others believe it should be held after the NRL season.

“We want to make sure that everyone who wants to play is able to and that there isn't too much pressure on the players,” Abdo added.

A separate issue emerged this year with suspensions carrying over from the match into the regular season. Some clubs expressed frustration over the policy, but Abdo defended the league's stance.

“That's just an application of the rules, we've always consistently treated the All Stars as a representative fixture and always will,” he said.

“Players and clubs are able to make that application like they would with Test matches and Origin, and those players' selection [for the All Stars] was virtually automatic given they've played for the Indigenous side so consistently over the years.”

As the league prepares for future expansion, broadcast negotiations will play a critical role in determining the NRL's long-term direction.

The next major TV deal looms in the coming years, with Papua New Guinea and Perth expected to join the competition.

“But you need to think about making sure that the game is accessible and easy to watch too,” Abdo said.

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The changing media landscape presents both opportunities and challenges. Streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon and Stan Sport are entering sports broadcasting, and the NRL is considering alternative models for selling rights.

“It could be that you have a party that owns exclusive or non-exclusive rights to a particular day of football or a particular type of football,” Abdo explained.

“So how we monetise the women's game, how we monetise the State of Origin or the internationals, all of that is an opportunity for us to think about how we allocate the rights to try and get the best possible deal for the game.”

With financial security at the heart of every decision, the league is also re-evaluating its player contract system.

The introduction of a transfer window and mid-season trade period has been widely debated, with a working group now in place to assess possible changes.

“There's a working group that was identified as part of the CBA, which will include the clubs and players association to try and look at a model that is stronger and better for everyone than the current model,” Abdo said.

“I don't want to foreshadow what that working group will come up with. I fully respect the right of the athlete to maximise their earnings.”

“It's just about making sure that we do it in a way that is not disruptive or a distraction for teams and fans in the season.”

The league has committed to addressing contract issues before the next broadcast deal is finalised in 2027.

“It was identified as something that needs to be focused on now to get it right ahead of any new broadcast deal,” Abdo said.