Recent NBA draftee Tyrese Proctor has backed the NRL to grow their presence in the United States of America.
A Cronulla Sharks fan, the Australian who was taken at Pick 49 in this year's NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and played for Duke at the college level. He was recently invited to the Sharks' headquarters ahead of his first NBA preseason.
The NRL are desperately attempting to expand their global footprint, and views the USA as a big part of that.
The financial windfalls, if they crack the market, are enormous from both a TV revenue and a gambling point of view.
Proctor said the game can grow in the USA.
"I was coming to Sharks games as much as I could growing up," Proctor said, per Sharks media. "My uncle had season tickets, so my cousins were always at games.
"If the game keeps growing and hopefully it goes international to America, fans are going to travel. So it definitely can grow in the States."
The NRL's biggest play on the American market has been their push to play the season opener in Las Vegas.
That will occur for a third time in 2026, with the Canterbury Bulldogs, St George Illawarra Dragons, Newcastle Knights and North Queensland Cowboys all set to make the trip.
Interest has reportedly been higher than in previous years, with the NRL recently chartering an extra plane to get fans across the world for the season opener.
The four teams travelling will mean 12 in total have made the trek around the world, with the Wests Tigers, Parramatta Eels, Melbourne Storm, Gold Coast Titans and Dolphins, as well as the Perth Bears, to be in consideration during 2027 and 2028, the final two years of the five-year deal with Las Vegas.
It's not just at the elite level, though.
The NRL has worked with American rugby league authorities to host a Nines tournament during the NRL weekend in Las Vegas, aiming to boost American interest in the sport.
TV ratings for the games played in America are yet to prove the concept is a success, but the NRL are hopeful of growth this year.
Sharks star Nicho Hynes said he believes Proctor could actively help grow the game in Cleveland.
"We've only played in Vegas, so Cleveland is hopefully a new opportunity," Hynes said.
"The more you see rugby league getting played over there, the more people will know about our sport.
"We saw a Sharks hat in a video [being worn] by a young up-and-coming NFL player. Somehow he got the hat, so the Sharks name is slowly getting out there."
Australians in America growing the game is a strategy the NRL have relied on previously.
Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe were instrumental in getting the Vegas games off the ground originally, while there are plenty of other Australian sports stars, particularly in the NBA, based in the USA.
