The league had been weighing up lucrative offers from the Ten and Nine networks and their streaming partners, but opted instead to stick with incumbents, the Seven Network and pay TV provider Foxtel, in a bumper seven-year agreement until the end of 2031.
In a shift away from tradition, Foxtel will have exclusive rights to Saturday games until the final eight rounds of the season.
But the total amount of free-to-air TV games a season, 77, will remain unchanged with an increase in the number of Thursday night matches on Seven to 15.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said fans would not be short-changed and believed viewing habits would continue to change during the course of the deal.
"What we know is the free-to-air coverage is unprecedented and it's the same," McLachlan told reporters on Tuesday.
"I think also people understand we're getting increasingly digital and people's viewing habits are changing.
"This is an extraordinary deal that services every single person in Australia for every match incredibly well.
"There's not a better broadcast deal than this in the world, forget the money, in terms of that it services everyone in this country."
McLachlan hosted the media conference at Marvel Stadium alongside Seven West, Foxtel and Telstra 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 COVID-19.
During the height of the 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.
McLachlan said the league would have "full control" of the AFL fixture and the timing of the grand final, which will be decided on annually.
However, Seven West Media chief executive James Warburton again made it clear where the network stood on the timing of the decider, hailing the night grand finals in Brisbane and Perth during the past two seasons.
"We'd love it to be a night grand final, obviously, but it's about the reach and people at home and some of the casual fans that would come in to bulk up the numbers," Warburton told reporters.
"It's a decision for the AFL and it's decision we support as partners."
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.
Warburton said it would be "inappropriate" to address the cricket contract but did take another swipe at CA's administration.
"We've been very clear in terms of where we sit with them (CA), but I would point out with the AFL we have never, at any point, had an issue, the AFL has always delivered on their contract," Warburton said.
McLachlan said the new deal "contemplates" an 18- and 19-team competition, with a decision on a new Tasmanian team expected within weeks.
Other key issues still on McLachlan's plate include funding for clubs and a new AFL players' pay deal.
Telstra will also continue as the AFL's digital partner.
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