Australian artist Tones and I was offered the NRL grand final gig on the eve of the finals series and turned it down because of prior commitments in the United States, according to her management.

This masthead revealed on Tuesday that the grand final will go ahead on October 4 without a headline pre-game entertainment act after the NRL was unable to come to a last-minute deal with the ARIA award winner.

On Wednesday, the star’s management revealed she had been approached with an offer by the NRL less than three weeks ago.

“Due to the last-minute nature and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer. We wish the NRL nothing but the very best for their event.”

Sources closely linked to the matter but not authorised to comment publicly say the parties had also been unable to come to an agreement over what songs Tones and I would perform at Accor Stadium and that she had not committed to playing her global smash hit Dance Monkey.

However, the timing of the approach to Tones and I has raised questions about why the NRL left it so late to try and lock in a big-name artist for the grand final.

By contrast, the AFL secured Kylie Minogue for its grand final five months ago.

Speaking on Nine’s Today show on Wednesday, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said: “We love Tones and I. She’s a great performer, great Australian artist. We had artistic differences, and those artistic differences couldn’t be resolved.

“That’s when we decided to go with the concept that we wanted to do over the last few years and donate the money to the underprivileged kids that can’t play the game of rugby league. Because rugby league is a game for all.”

The NRL’s failure to land grand final entertainment comes less than three months after it announced a record seven-year $5.3 billion broadcast rights deal with Foxtel and Nine, the owner of this masthead.

The NRL is already obligated to fund junior rugby league development but V’landys said the money set aside to pay for a grand final act would be better spent in that area.

One of the biggest events on the sporting calendar, the NRL decider has traditionally booked top Australian and international acts for its pre-game show.

But after talks with Tones and I proved unsuccessful, the NRL opted not to scramble together a back-up option and has said it will instead donate $1 million to junior rugby league.

V’landys said he had been considering scrapping costly pre-game entertainment before negotiations with Tones and I collapsed and believes the money is better spent on the grassroots game.

He argues the game itself is the entertainment but the absence of an audience-drawing pre-game act threatens to take the gloss off Sunday week’s grand final as an event.

Tones and I responded to V’landys’ decision to direct the pre-game entertainment budget to create chances for children to play rugby league, posting the names and images of a collection of Australian artists on Instagram.

“Some artists that also deserve opportunities,” she said. “Not even scratching the service [sic] of how many incredible artists we have in this country.”

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Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.