New Balance are eager to make a move into the NRL, hoping to establish a strong presence in the sport after becoming a market leader in the AFL.
The brand is already the main apparel sponsor for six teams in the Aussie Rules league, the most of any brand, as well as having a strong presence in Super Netball, and will now hope to make the move into rugby league.
This will hopefully come in the form of both team and individual player sponsorship, as the NRL continues to expand as a global brand.
New Balance eager to make move into NRL
The NRL could be about to see a new brand enter the sponsorship wars, with New Balance setting their sights on rugby league.
According to New Balance SVP, Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa Darren Tucker, both NRL teams and players are on the brand's radar in both the near future and further down the line.
"I'm a Sydney boy, and I'm pissed off that we've got no rugby league teams," Tucker told Sporting News Australia.
"Running is not just running. If you just focus on the top end of running, it doesn't change the business. But if you look at sport, not many athletes don't run for training or whatever the case may be.
"That connection between sport and running is really strong, and it shows up stronger in Australia than a lot of other countries because we keep playing. We play at 35, whereas the American kids go to college, fail, stop playing sport. That's important.
"We're with AFL, and we've got GWS, which is great, but we need a profile in Sydney from a brand point of view. We need a couple of clubs in Sydney."
New Balance currently sponsors Greater Western Sydney, St. Kilda, Melbourne, West Coast, Brisbane, and Gold Coast in the AFL, and are keen to add an NRL team to this list.
While players have been spotted in their players throughout the years, they are yet to land a big name signing to solidify them in the league.