Penrith are winning off the field as well as on it, posting a total profit in excess of $21 million over the past four years after haemorrhaging $50 million during the decade that preceded it.

The Panthers have cashed in on the success that has come with four straight grand final appearances, which culminated in a historic three-peat last season. It’s a feat last achieved by the great Parramatta side of 1981-83, with Penrith attempting to outdo their great western Sydney rivals by lifting a fourth title this year.

The incredible run has been good for business, although some financial challenges loom large. The Chocolate Soldiers will be without a home ground in 2025-26 while BlueBet Stadium is redeveloped to cater for the extra punters clamouring to attend home fixtures. There will be a $3.4 million black hole for each of those seasons, due to the inability to make money from gate takings, stadium sponsorship, signage and food and beverage sales.

However, the Panthers have come a long way from a club that almost shut its doors before its storied run.

The Panthers Group was precariously close to insolvency with debts nudging nearly $110 million. James Packer, at the behest of former Panthers general manager Phil Gould, made a payment of more than $10 million to keep the doors open.

Now the Panthers are the envy of the NRL, winning premierships and ensuring they are well and truly in the black.

“In the last four years, our actual profits have exceeded $20 million,” Panthers Group CEO Brian Fletcher said. “The decade prior to that, from 2010 to 2020, we lost $50 million on rugby league.

“That shows how you can fix your bleed. Success helps you on the balance sheet as well. 2020 was the first year that the licensed club didn’t have to hand substantial subsidies over to the football department to keep them propped up.

“It is good to be in that position, but we’re fortunate to be winning too. That doesn’t go on forever, so we need to make sure we keep our eye on the ball with the finances going forward. 2025 and 2026 will be years where we need to be diligent.”

Until recently, when the grant from head office to franchises began outstripping the payments to players under the salary cap, most clubs were running at a loss. Now that they are profitable, some have drawn attention from potential US investors. Manly chairman and majority owner Scott Penn has held talks with San Francisco 49ers president Al Guido over a partnership between the clubs that could result in the NFL giants taking a stake in the Sea Eagles.

Speaking on SEN radio on Friday, Storm chairman Matt Tripp said he had also fielded an approach and wouldn’t totally rule out American investment.

The priority for the Panthers, however, is maximising commercial opportunities while their stadium is being revamped. They are hoping to be the home team during Magic Round and play in Las Vegas next year, moves which will significantly help their bottom line. They are also negotiating to take some matches to Bathurst and Mudgee so that they won’t have to play all of their home games at CommBank Stadium, the home of the Eels.

“Six years ago we had an average of 8000 people at the football, now about 80 per cent of our games are sold out,” Fletcher said. “Merchandise has just skyrocketed after winning three premierships, membership has skyrocketed. The licensed clubs have been going well, they always make a nice cash profit.

“The last couple of years have been a bit tougher because we’ve just spent $121 million to build a new Pullman Hotel and a

thousand-seat convention centre across the road from the club.

“It has affected the trading for the last few years because it’s a big building site. That’s now all been completed and the hotel is humming along. It’s a pretty bright future.

“The beauty of it is we have one of the best football coaches and best football CEOs in Matt Cameron and Ivan Cleary. That’s a major plus in the organisation.”