Telstra, Title sponsor of the Australian National Rugby League have taken a back-seat in an attempt to stop Vodafone sponsoring Warriors from the next season.
Due to the conflict of the naming rights, Auckland Warriors were afraid of losing long term naming sponsor Vodafone initially, but now the deal is extended. The Warriors had also been informed that they need to look out for the new naming rights sponsor and cannot continue with Vodafone.
However on Tuesday, Telstra via their Twitter handle confirmed that Warriors can continue with Vodafone for next 12 months in support of the sport and the fans. This was a welcome move to all the teams and a very kind gesture by Telstra especially in the tough times of Covid-19.
Vodafone has been associated with Warriors since 1998, in deals worth more than $724,830 per season. As per the sources, the deal between NRL and Telstra is worth $10.8mn per season.
Warriors CEO Cameron George said, “We had discussions with the NRL this afternoon and they were having their internal discussions with Telstra…We’re very appreciative of their position and reconsideration and equally to the NRL, we know that between the four parties, Telstra, NRL, us and Vodafone, that we can help the game be better and grow.”