National Rugby League side Cronulla Sharks ended months of offseason "uncertainty" by signing a multi-million dollar major sponsor "just 48 hours before" launching its premiership defense, according to the Sydney DAILY TELEGRAPH. Opal Solar "will be plastered across the front of the black, white and blue jersey when they run out for the season-launch clash" with the Brisbane Broncos on Thursday night at Shark Park. The delay in finding a sponsor cost the club tens of thousands of dollars in preseason merchandise sales "while fans wait to purchase the official 50-year jersey with the naming rights sponsor." Club CEO Lyall Gorman said, "We’ve been in the market to find the right partner, not just any partner." Opal Solar is "already involved in the NRL as a sponsor on the back of the Canterbury Bulldogs jersey." The deal is believed to be worth around A$1M ($770,000)-a-season, "one of the most lucrative in the game." It could not arrive "at a better time for the Sharks," who, despite winning the premiership, reported a A$600,000 loss in '16 (DAILY TELEGRAPH, 2/27).
