NRL players face 10-year ban for joining rebel R360 rugby competition

October 17, 2025

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InShot_20251017_015555428 — Roger Tuivasa-Sheck of the Warriors is likely to join R360 on a deal worth around $1 million a season. Andrew Cornaga / www.photosport.nz

“Any NRL player who negotiates, signs or enters into a letter of intent, playing contract or any other form of agreement – whether verbal or written – with a football competition, league or organisation not recognised by the Australian Rugby League Commission as a national sporting federation, will be banned from participation in the NRL and any ARLC-sanctioned competitions for a period of 10 years”.

The NRL have announced that any NRL player who negotiates with R360 will be banned for 10 years, seemingly ending their career on Australian soil.

So what is R360 and why is the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC) so threatened?

R360 is a “rebel” rugby union competition that has everyone talking, co-founded by former England international Mike Tindall.

The competition is set to include eight men’s teams, and four women’s teams, to compete in a condensed season format.

With million-dollar offers to poach NRL players, the proposed league has gained a lot of attention. Major rugby nations have united and have said they ban players who sign with the league from playing in Test matches.

Despite going after top rugby league players such as Payne Haas and Ryan Papenhuyzen, R360 is a rugby union competition.

Former union international Mike Tindall, who made 75 appearances for England between 2000 and 2011, is the co-founder and public face of the competition.

Meanwhile, Eddie Jones’ right-hand man at the 2023 World Cup, former Wallabies general manager Chris Webb, is in advanced talks with Rugby 360 organisers about a role that could involve recruiting players.

Webb, who worked under Dave Rennie and then Jones in the Wallabies’ inner sanctum from 2019 to 2023, has been speaking to Australian players about joining R360.

R360 will be a combination of the Rugby 7’s format with cricket’s IPL franchise set-up. Each franchise will be based in a different country around the world. Each round of the league will be played in a different country copying the World 7’s Circuit.

Suggested city’s to host include London, Barcelona, Paris, New York and Los Angeles, with organisers said to be keen on holding ‘grand prix’ style weekends around major concerts and other events.

The main attraction to R360 is how much they are willing to pay their marquee players per season and a big reason the NRL have taken such a big stance against R360.

Restraint of Trade

A high-profile Sydney lawyer believes the NRL’s proposed 10-year bans for players who negotiate with or sign with Rugby 360 will face hurdles if challenged in court, labelling the game’s new measures a restraint of trade.

The sports lawyer, who has acted on behalf of several sportspeople for many years, said the NRL’s actions could be seen as anticompetitive, and may be in breach of Australian competition laws and were a restraint of trade.

“I think the NRL will have some hurdles should they be challenged,” the lawyer said, speaking on the condition of anonymity due to legal reasons.

Negotiations

It has been reported that the R360 have been in negotiation with some of the NRL’s biggest names like Payne Haas, Zac Lomax, Ryan Papenhuyzen and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

Code Sports report that R360 is willing to pay their marquee players up to $2 million AUD per season, earning nearly 2-3 times what they are earning in the NRL.

It is understood that Australia Rugby Union joined New Zealand, Scotland, Italy, England, South Africa, France and Ireland in a joint statement that cautioned players about joining R360.

The new competition is meant to kick off in October 2026.

Despite going after top rugby league players such as Payne Haas and Ryan Papenhuyzen, R360 is a rugby union competition.

Former union international Mike Tindall, who made 75 appearances for England between 2000 and 2011, is the co-founder and public face of the competition.

Webb, who worked under Dave Rennie and then Jones in the Wallabies’ inner sanctum from 2019 to 2023, has been speaking to Australian players about joining R360.

What have Rugby Australia and the NRL said about it?

It’s safe to say the governing bodies for rugby union and league in Australia aren’t fans of R360.

Peter V’Landys, chair of the Australian rugby league commission, called it a “competition out of a Corn Flakes box”.

“I’m not really concerned about it because that’s what it is, it’s a completely unprofessional — they’ve got no business plan,” he said.

“Any player who goes is really risking their career. They have to look at Salford this year in the Super League; it was a similar situation, the players didn’t get paid.