The National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition (sometimes referred to as the Telstra Premiership for sponsorship purposes) is contested by 16 teams, 15 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand, and is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship. The premiership also boasts the world's highest attendance figures for a rugby club competition of either code and is generally regarded as the most competitive. In terms of Australia-wide television ratings it has the highest audiences for its Grand Final and sells the most merchandise of any Australian sports league.

The National Rugby League is the current embodiment of Australia's top-level rugby league club competition which has been running continuously since 1908. The NRL formed in the aftermath of the 1990s' Super League war as a joint partnership between the sport's national governing body, the Australian Rugby League (ARL) and the News Corporation-controlled Super League after both organisations ran premierships parallel to each other in 1997.

NRL matches are played throughout Australia as well as New Zealand from Autumn until Spring, culminating in a Grand Final match to determine the season's premiers. Each year the NRL champions play an additional game against the premiers of the European Super League competition in the World Club Challenge.