From one of Roy Masters’ SMH acolytes, Andrew Webster:
‘Look at Ryan Reynolds’: San Francisco 49ers boss considers buying an NRL club
March 5, 2024 — 5.45am
The president of the San Francisco 49ers has made the stunning revelation that he is considering buying a stake in an NRL club – possibly making it Australia’s version of Wrexham AFC, the lower division football club owned by Ryan Reynolds.
Apart from heading one of world sport’s iconic brands, Al Guido is also chairman and chief executive of Elevate Sports Ventures, a leading sports consultancy.
NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo speaks to the Today show following the season opener in Las Vegas.
He was the main speaker at the NRL’s Business and Sport conference the day before the historic season-opening double-header at Allegiant Stadium.
In a wide-ranging interview later in that day, Guido backed the NRL’s push into the US – but said it should consider opening the season at Levi’s Stadium outside of San Francisco, warning ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys against keeping matches solely in Vegas.
His most surprising remarks, however, were about buying an NRL club.
Last July, the 49ers’ investment arm took ownership of famous English football team Leeds United.
The New York City Roosters hit the ground running in Las Vegas last weekend with victory over last season’s grand finalists Brisbane.CREDIT: NRL PHOTO
“I don’t want to comment as to what’s ongoing at the Niners,” Guido said. “But we like to be thought of as multi-sport ownership. And again, it’s not a new concept. Fenway Sports Group has bought multiple franchises.
“We will look at anything that has a passionate fan base because, to us, it starts with people coming through the gates and supporting it.
The reality is you have a pretty good commercial opportunity [in the NRL].
Asked specifically if he would consider buying an NRL club, Guido replied: “Would we take a look? Absolutely.”
When it was suggested he should make Russell Crowe at South Sydney an offer he couldn’t refuse, Guido smiled: “He can refuse.”
With record annual grants that easily outstretch the salary cap, it takes a lot of spending for NRL clubs to no longer finish the year in the black.
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Some, such as the Broncos, Souths and the Roosters, are so wealthy the running joke has often been they had more money than the NRL.
When Crowe and Peter Holmes a Court bought a 75 per cent stake in the club in 2005, they paid only $3 million for it. Last year, it was valued at $45 million.
Now, 10 of the 17 clubs are either privately or part-privately owned.
Guido sees a possible synergy with an NRL club similar to that of Wrexham AFC, which Reynolds and fellow actor and businessman Robert McElhenney bought in 2020. An ensuing Netflix docuseries gave the club global exposure.
“If you look at what Ryan Reynolds and the team have done with Wrexham,” he said. “People love live sports. It’s always been strong. Some argued when live sports came back online post COVID that it was the COVID bounce. And I don’t think it was, I think what COVID did is it didn’t necessarily change anything. It accelerated everything.”
Guido acknowledged that the NRL’s push into the US, mostly to ride the wave of sports betting that’s swept across the country since it was legalised in several states, was very ambitious – but not foolhardy.
He recalls some NFL team owners being against the NFL’s successful push into overseas markets by playing matches in London, Germany, Brazil and other countries.
“I think the NRL is on to something, but I will tell them and I will tell all the fans – it’s gonna take time,” Guido said. “I mean, the NFL … they call it the biggest, biggest league in the world. It took a long time for our international strategy to really pay off in those markets. I mean, we’re 10 years into an international strategy.
“Rugby league is one where NFL fans will add it on. It’s an add-on. Americans love other sports. I would say there’s an interest in the physicality, right?”
While the double-header at Allegiant Stadium was a relative success – at the time of writing no TV ratings in the US were available – Guido argues the NRL should consider markets outside of Vegas.
Wrexham co-owner Ryan Reynolds with fans at The Racecourse Ground.CREDIT: MARTIN RICKETT
“For the first two years, Vegas is the proper market,” he said. “But I do think there are other markets where there’s probably more sizable penetration around … We might wake up next year and this is sold out within 15 minutes of putting it on sale because this is the market everybody wants to come to. But if I were them I would leverage it as much as possible.”
The Nevada Commission of Tourism has locked the NRL into a five-year deal for the season openers. Unsurprisingly, Guido is pitching up Levi’s Stadium.
“We’ve hosted more events, we’ve hosted 155 events in the first – 10 years of our operation and the most in any stadium in North America that doesn’t have a dome,” Guido said. “We’ve hosted one Super Bowl, one college football national championship game, multiple obviously international soccer matches. We’re now going to be the only stadium to host the World Cup and a Super Bowl in the same year in 2026.”