Peter V’landys has just secured the biggest broadcast agreement in Australian sporting history, but his next career move may prove just as significant. After delivering the NRL’s record-breaking $5.3 billion television deal, the Racing NSW chief says he is yet to decide whether he’ll return to racing or remain focused on rugby league.
V’landys is currently on four months of long service leave from Racing NSW while serving as interim executive chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission following Andrew Abdo’s departure. His leave was approved to avoid simultaneously carrying out both roles.
Now, after completing one of the biggest negotiations of his career, questions are growing over whether he will ever return.
Speaking to The Straight, V’landys insisted no decision has been made.
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“I have not made up my mind,” V’landys told The Straight.
“I haven’t thought about it because I’ve been concentrating on this broadcast deal.”
Those comments came just hours after the NRL officially announced its landmark $5.3 billion media rights agreementwith Nine, Foxtel, DAZN and Sky NZ, a seven-year deal running from 2028 to 2034 that eclipses the AFL’s current $4.5 billion agreement to become the richest broadcast contract in Australian sporting history.
The agreement is widely viewed as another defining achievement in V’landys’ remarkable sporting administration career.
Since becoming ARLC chairman in 2019, he has overseen the NRL’s COVID restart, expansion into Perth and Papua New Guinea, and now a broadcast agreement that will underpin the game’s finances for the next decade. The deal also includes provisions for a potential 20th NRL club, widely expected to be based in New Zealand.
But for racing participants, the uncertainty surrounding his future is equally significant.
V’landys has led Racing NSW since 2004 and has been credited with transforming the state’s racing industry through prizemoney increases, major carnival investment, race fields legislation and infrastructure upgrades. His leadership has helped make Sydney one of the world’s richest racing jurisdictions.
Despite stepping away temporarily, V’landys has made it clear he remains passionate about racing.
Speaking to The Straight, he said Racing NSW continues to have an experienced leadership team capable of managing the organisation during his absence.
Whether that temporary arrangement becomes permanent remains the biggest unanswered question.
There is also growing speculation that V’landys could remain in rugby league beyond his interim appointment, particularly following the success of the new television agreement and reports that NRL clubs are supportive of expanding his executive role.
For now, though, V’landys is refusing to be drawn.
His focus remains on implementing the broadcast agreement and preparing the NRL for its next phase of expansion.
Only once that work settles will one of Australian sport’s most influential administrators decide where his future truly lies.
Whatever that decision is, it will have enormous ramifications.
Not just for rugby league.
But for Australian racing as well.
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