AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has taken a team to the United States on a covert fact-finding mission, with at least one global streaming service looming as a major player in the game’s next broadcast rights deal.

The Age can reveal that McLachlan has taken fixture boss Travis Auld and the league’s head of strategy, Walter Lee, on a tour of the US, with the trio set to meet tech giants Amazon, Google and Facebook in coming days.

Amazon’s headquarters is in Seattle, while Facebook and Google are in California.

It will not be the first time the AFL has made contact with the companies, as cashed-up streaming services look to invest in the broadcasting of Australian sport.