Calls for NRL clubs to add surnames to jerseys for Magic Round

Bulldogs CEO Aaron Warburton has encouraged other teams to add player surnames to their jerseys for Magic Round, after the club became the first to include them.

On Friday, the Bulldogs announced a long-developed plan to add surnames to the back of player jerseys for the season opener in Las Vegas.

It’s a plan first raised on SEN 1170 Mornings that attracted the widespread attention of the rugby league community and would see the league follow the route of several American sports most notably, should the rest of the competition adopt the idea full-time.

The Bulldogs have capped the first pre-order of jerseys at 1000, with captain Stephen Crichton leading the way amongst fans, with stars Jacob Kiraz and Matt Burton also well-represented in the sales.

But Warburton doesn’t want this to be a one-off. The hope of the Bulldogs’ CEO is that every club could adopt the trend as soon as this season, with it becoming the standard by the time of the new CBA in 2027.

“We'll be the only club wearing surnames for Vegas, but I'm encouraging as many teams as possible to do it for what could be a really good opportunity at Magic Round this year,” Warburton told SEN 1170 Breakfast.

“If we could get other clubs (onboard), and there's plenty of times to do it, it could also be the right time to trial squad numbers, or at least the number that the player gets to choose as a once off.

“The traditional element with numbers and our players at the moment is more around their number they debuted for the club, but they're quite large, those numbers so it could be a Stephen Crichton 99 jersey.

“If it's any game, it might be Magic Round and it might be all 17 teams.

“The idea of the concept of surnames sort of reared its head about 18 months ago, and (the idea was) it's not something we can do within the next few months, but we as a club (can) work with all relevant stakeholders just to build to round one next year where we'll have one game with surnames.

“Hopefully on the back of it, a heap of really positive data and narratives, and potentially leading into the new CBA where from 2028, surnames are a regular thing.

“It's just bizarre that they're not, but I get it and, like I said, it took 18 months just to get to one game, so we can't wait to see it come to life.”

One of the large obstacles with player surnames on jerseys surrounds a player’s intellectual property (IP) and how to fairly give players a share of the profits.

Warburton acknowledged the issue, revealing the club had worked hard with the RLPA to ensure it was equitable for players, also acknowledging the price of jerseys needs to be dealt with by the NRL.

“We worked really hard to make sure because, I'll be honest, rugby league jerseys aren't affordable for everyone, and we as a game need to work on that,” Warburton said.

“The costs that come out of it and the multiple stakeholders that get their clip, we are able to produce this jersey, short of putting the number on it, for the same amount, it just comes down to the player IP component.

“From the start, we said if we're gonna use player surnames… the player's name is the new item that features on this jersey, and they should be remunerated appropriately.

“So, that's a first for rugby league where our players will get paid per jersey, and, albeit a small amount, it's global standards.

“We did some research with the RLPA about what European football and American sports are passing on to their players, and like I said, it's not revolutionary (but) it is for Australia, and they'll be paid per jersey.

“However, the name is actually sublimated onto the kit so the only thing that changes is the lead time.

“You can't walk straight into the store at the moment and buy the jersey… so the moment you start patching is the moment it starts becoming expensive.

“We may get to that (patching) down the track if we can eliminate other costs in the jersey, but just to make sure that the jersey stays the same price and the only thing you're paying for is actually the number getting printed on there.

“The game needs to work really hard at this. I think in the next CBA we literally have to bring jersey prices down for our fans.”