Car brands join AFL, NRL off-season moves
The AFL and NRL premierships were wrapped up less than a month ago, and already there are new car brands joining top teams as sponsors for 2027.
The off-season for the AFL and NRL competitions has brought about some changes for 2027, with two top clubs announcing two car brands as new partners for next year.
Fresh off the back of its second AFL Grand Final appearance, the Fremantle Dockers have announced a three-year partnership with Hyundai, linking back to the Korean brand’s spiritual birthplace in Australia.
In 1986, it was in Perth that Hyundai opened its first Australian dealership, since going on to deliver more than 2.2 million vehicles locally, and now being a consistent top-five player in the local market.
Hyundai will partner with not only the AFL men’s side but also the AFLW women’s team, where its branding will feature on the upper back of both the AFL and AFLW guernseys, as well as on training gear.
It also gives Hyundai unprecedented coverage in the market, with the carmaker currently also sponsoring the Carlton Football Club and the Brisbane Lions, who last month beat the Dockers to win their third consecutive AFL Grand Final.
Like many other brands and clubs, the sponsorship will be beneficial for fans, with all 2027 full-season Fremantle members to be eligible for up to $1000 cashback when buying a new Hyundai through an authorised dealer from November 1, 2026.
Other prominent automotive sponsors in the AFL include Ford (Geelong Cats since 1925, the world’s longest-running professional sporting sponsorship), Toyota (Adelaide Crows), Nissan (Hawthorn Hawks), Mazda (North Melbourne Kangaroos), Volkswagen (Sydney Swans), Chery (St Kilda Saints), and GWM (Richmond Tigers).
Over in the NRL, GWM is set to take up space on the sleeves of the Parramatta Eels NRL and NRLW jerseys in 2027, launching amid GWM’s own bid to vault into the top five.
Already a partner of the New Zealand Warriors, GWM’s new partnership with the Eels is being billed as a “multi-year” deal, with both parties hoping the NRL side can push for its fifth premiership in coming seasons.
Outside of the Eels/GWM partnership, the NRL also features automotive sponsorship deals with BYD (Sydney Roosters), Toyota (North Queensland Cowboys), MG (South Sydney Rabbitohs), Kia (Brisbane Broncos), and Suzuki (Melbourne Storm).
Jordan Mulach
