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June 26, 2025 | Edition #20
Hey there!
From one country to 100+—MLR’s global sprint has begun. Just a few seasons ago, Major League Rugby was a U.S.-only broadcast. Today, it’s streaming and airing in over 100 countries worldwide. That explosive leap is just one chapter in the league’s rapid evolution.
In this edition, we deep dive with Jericho Groenland, Vice President, Marketing at MLR, into the league’s marketing strategy, plans, and more.
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Today’s TLDR:
💡 Five business lessons from MLR
🚀Insider notes on MLR’s growth strategy
📖 The stories shaping the industry (and the lessons we learned this week)
Let’s dive in. 🚀
“Americans are rugby fans—they just don’t know it yet.” That’s MLR Commissioner Nic Benson’s rallying cry. And judging by the league’s rapid rise over the last seven years, he might just be right. Here are 5 business lessons from MLR’s growth.
A global broadcast leap:
MLR is now available in 130 countries worldwide.
The league is now fully available on ESPN+.
MLR has its own streaming platform, The Rugby Network.
Additionally, the league is making rugby a click away for millions of new fans. Regional partners like TSN, MSG, and AT&T SportsNet further amplify this reach ahead of the upcoming 2031 Rugby World Cup.
Rugby’s U.S. arrival:
MLR is following a model well-executed by Major League Soccer. Scale early. Prepare the market for a big event. And then leverage to take the massive leap. With the 2031 Men’s and 2033 Women’s Rugby World Cups in the U.S., MLR is:
✅ Executing a 6-year plan.
✅ Utilizing Anthem RC to build elite talent.
✅ Added franchise in seven of the ten DMAs
The ambitious plan before the Rugby World Cup is evident in the numbers below:
Another key reason why Benson is bullish about Rugby’s growth despite New York Ironworkers and Toronto Arrows shutting down is the ease of access and youth participation.
Bringing youth to the game:
MLR is investing heavily at the grassroots level.
Its relaunched Rookie Rugby Program is now active in schools, helping the sport gain traction where football budgets fall short.
Massachusetts became the first state to sanction rugby as a varsity sport, and other states followed suit.
Combine that with a rising college pipeline—58 teams and counting—and MLR’s youth strategy is taking shape.
The growth is also due to Rugby positioning itself as a more accessible sport for fans.
MLR’s case for the time-starved fan:
NFL games can run over 3½ hours and cost a family over $1000 for a night out.
MLR offers a 2-hour, high-energy experience for closer to $150, and it’s working.
In 2023 alone, stadium attendance grew by 29% over two years.
MLR is selling itself not just as a sport, but as recession-proof, time-efficient entertainment. And people are buying it. 40% of MLR fans are within the lucrative 18-34 years age bracket. That helps in drawing sponsor attention.
Sponsors have arrived:
That value-first positioning is drawing sponsors. In 2023, MLR inked deals with Globant (jersey + tech partner), American Airlines, RTIC Outdoors, and Kappa. And these brands aren’t just placing bets—they’re seeing returns. Compared to fans of other U.S. leagues, MLR fans are:
👀 160% more likely to notice sponsors.
🛍️ 114% more likely to buy their products.
💵 74% more likely to hold $250K+ in liquid assets.
They are also 105% more likely to be business decision-makers. This kind of fan profile is what turns an emerging sport into a marketer’s dream. For a more detailed insight into the MLR’s business model and marketing strategies, we invited Jericho Groenland for a chat on our Essentially Sports Think Tank podcast.
But before we dive into that conversation, quick question for you.
Which Global Sport Do You Think Has the Biggest Growth Potential in the U.S.? |
MLR’s range of sponsors is as diverse as the league’s fan base. You have a name like Gilbert—a historic rugby brand—alongside a modern-day health brand like Vitacost.
In 2023, the league signed with Legends, the same agency behind major NFL and college football deals. The collaboration brought:
A full revamp of the fan ticketing experience.
A dedicated sponsorship sales team for MLR.
A more personalized, data-first digital marketing strategy.
In a separate partnership with Sportian, MLR has quietly built a digital ecosystem around its fans—and the numbers show early traction:
🚀 149,000 new registered users.
⏱️ 16 million minutes watched.
💳 $33 average revenue per user.
Now the big question. What draws them in?
Accessibility is the real driver of growth
Jericho Groenland elaborated in the Think Tank podcast, “The amount of stuff Rugby players and our players can engage in, that I can’t fathom NFL could go to their players, [and can say] ‘Hey, we want you to come participate in this.’” They participate in promotional campaigns, community activities, and fan engagement work, as you can see below:
But the growth hasn’t come without challenges. In the era of influencer marketing, Groenland was candid about why MLR hasn’t gone all-in on influencers:
Budget limitations mean every dollar spent needs to be justified.
Influencer ROI remains hard to prove, especially in a challenger league.
Authenticity can’t be faked—and rugby fans are quick to sniff it out.
That said, MLR is working with select creators, but only where the value aligns with long-term goals. But influencer or not, MLR is on the right track:
📈 A data-driven approach that enables it to make informed decisions.
📺 Equally focused on the TV and streaming audience to cater to both.
⚡ Built a new platform in record time to stream content.
Interestingly, unlike the NBA or NFL, rugby players’ jersey numbers aren’t permanent—they change based on position. That fluidity makes it hard to build consistent retail-driven athlete brands like LeBron or Brady.
Still, Groenland recognizes the need for star power. Hence, MLR is investing in player storytelling to balance team-first branding with moments of individual breakout.
It’s one of the things we are really pushing—to tell our stories and let those individuals (players) shine.
Regardless, MLR is expanding. Groenland revealed she was already in talks with a few potential franchise owners. Teams from Austin and Kansas City in the cards? She keeps us guessing. But more teams, a growing fanbase, and younger players mean a potential Tom Brady moment might just be in the offing for MLR.
You can catch the full episode below:
Visit our Think Tank Hub to explore insights, interviews, and more.
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