These women aren’t hobbyists. They’re representing their clubs on national television, inspiring the next generation of girls to lace up the boots and helping grow one of Australia’s fastest-rising sporting competitions. Yet when the final whistle blows, many head back to jobs as teachers, police officers, nurses, tradies and office workers before doing it all again the next day.
The numbers tell the story.
Under the current collective bargaining agreement, each NRLW club operates under a salary cap of $900,000, rising to approximately $1.5 million by 2027.
The average player currently earns around $37,500 a season, increasing to roughly $63,000 by the end of the agreement. While that’s a significant improvement from where the competition began, it’s still nowhere near enough to support a full-time professional athlete.
That raises an important question. With the NRL on the verge of a television rights deal reportedly worth more than $5 billion over seven years, is now the time to truly invest in the NRLW?
Not necessarily by making every player full-time overnight. That would be expensive, and perhaps premature. But there is a sensible middle ground.
Imagine each club contracting 10 to 15 players full-time. Your marquee stars, representative players and emerging elite talent would train during the day, recover properly, spend more time in the gym, work on their skills and become ambassadors for the game in schools and the community.
The remainder of each squad could continue on part-time contracts while the competition continues to grow.
It wouldn’t just improve the quality of football. It would improve player welfare, reduce burnout and create a genuinely elite environment. Better athletes produce better games. Better games attract bigger crowds, higher television audiences and more sponsors. It’s an investment, not an expense.
And the audience is already responding. The 2025 NRLW Grand Final attracted an average television audience of more than 1.3 million viewers, while more than 12 million people tuned into NRLW matches across the season. Interest in the competition is no longer the issue.
We’ve seen this model work elsewhere. The AFLW, WNBA and women’s football competitions around the world didn’t become stronger by waiting for the perfect commercial moment. They became stronger because their governing bodies backed the product before it reached its ceiling.
The NRL has always spoken about wanting the NRLW to become a premier women’s sporting competition. The next step is proving it.
Hosting the Women’s Origin before the NRLW season is also a bad look in my eyes. It must be played mid-NRLW season as its own showpiece. Not a pre-season tournament.
If even two or three per cent of the annual broadcast revenue was reinvested directly into full-time NRLW contracts, the cost would barely register against the overall value of the deal.
A full-time group of 10 to 15 players per club would require only a fraction of that investment while immediately lifting the standard of the competition.
The biggest argument against it is that the league should wait until the competition generates enough money to fund itself.
But that’s backwards thinking.
No successful business waits for growth before investing.
It invests to create growth.
The NRL didn’t become Australia’s biggest sporting code by playing it safe. It invested in State of Origin, Magic Round, Las Vegas, expansion clubs and grassroots development because it believed those investments would pay off.
Why should the NRLW be any different Going all-in tomorrow might be unrealistic. Taking the first meaningful step towards professionalism isn’t.
Because if the NRL genuinely believes the NRLW is part of the future of rugby league, then it’s time to start treating its players like they are
Matt Attard is a freelance rugby league writer, disability support worker and host of the Pack Mentality podcast. A lifelong Bulldogs supporter, he is passionate about telling the stories behind the game, from grassroots to the NRL, while championing mental health and the people who make rugby league special. You can read all of his content here and contact him on LinkedIn.
