The league had been weighing up lucrative offers from the Ten Network and its streaming partner Paramount Plus, and the Nine Network and Stan, but will stick with the incumbents.

Telstra will also continue as the AFL’s digital partner.

The AFL held a media conference on Tuesday to confirm details of the new deal, which will run from 2025 until the end of the 2031 season.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the AFL secured two-season extensions with Seven and Foxtel worth $946 million.

In 2015, Seven, Foxtel and Telstra teamed up for a then-record seven-year deal worth $2.5 billion.

Seven and Foxtel have broadcast the AFL since 2012, after the Ten Network bowed out following a decade as a co-partner.

AFL chairman Richard Goyder appeared on a video link from Perth for the announcement, alongside Seven West Media chairman Kerry Stokes.

“Today makes certain of affordability and accessibility at all levels,” Goyder said.

AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan hosted the media conference in Melbourne alongside Seven West and Foxtel executives.

McLachlan called the agreement a “universal partnership” that secured the game’s future and would help the league and AFL clubs rebound from the financial ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This partnership is an incredible result, unprecedented and the biggest in Australian sport,” McLachlan said.

McLachlan said the league would have “full control” of the AFL fixture and the timing of the grand final.

The new agreement could have a flow-on effect for other sports, such as cricket and tennis.

Seven West Media has declared it will take Cricket Australia to court over an alleged breach of the broadcast deal the parties signed in 2018.

When McLachlan announced his pending resignation from the AFL in April, he said securing the new rights deal was a key priority before he left.

Another big decision for the AFL before he leaves is whether the AFL accepts a team from Tasmania.

McLachlan said the new deal “contemplates” an 18- and 19-team competition.

He confirmed the number of free-to-air games will stay the same, but that some would move from Saturday to Thursday.

Foxtel will have exclusive rights to Saturday games for the first eight rounds in Melbourne.

“I want to say that again – we will have the same number of free free-to-air games,” McLachlan said.

The new deal also continues to include the AFLW.

Apart from Tasmania, other key issues still on McLachlan’s plate include funding for clubs and a new AFL players’ pay deal.