For the 2026/27 season, Newcastle United’s home kit was launched without a front-of-shirt sponsor.
The kit launch is one of the most high-profile commercial moments of the year for a football club. The reveal, the social media coverage, the online talk, the shirt sales.
KNOX (the eventual new front-of-shirt sponsor) though were unable to capitalise on any of it. Hence, Newcastle’s sponsorship deal for the upcoming 2026/27 season is only worth up to £10m.
However, for the next two seasons of KNOX’s 3-year contract with the club, The Athletic report that Newcastle United could rake in £25m per season. The same £25m per year amount the Sela three deal was widely reported to be.
The KNOX deal marks a change in Newcastle United and CEO David Hopkinson’s sponsorship strategy.
The same as Newcastle United, Sela was also a Saudi Arabia PIF part-owned company.
Now, with KNOX emblazoned across the black and white stripes for a combined £60m across three years, it seems that Newcastle United are looking to diversify their sponsorship deals by moving towards independent commercial partners.
The club has also, for the first time, sold naming rights to the Darsley Park training ground (now called the KNOX Training Ground), after the South African sports drink company forked out an extra £6m a year for the rights, in a combined package that also included KNOX becoming sleeve sponsor on the training kit..
Newcastle United and KNOX are reportedly planning a co-branded beverage, creating yet another revenue stream for Hopkinson to utilise.
With SCR rulings further restricting the purchasing power of clubs like Newcastle United, having as many other money-making revenue streams going into the club (alongside the shirt and training ground deals) is a necessity.
Clubs like Newcastle United and Villa are having to think outside the box with their commercial agreements. Newcastle, with these KNOX deals, have packaged their assets together to generate income from every possible area.
Credit: Knox Hydrate
The club has managed to agree a deal comparable to the previous Sela one in what is currently a ‘depressed’ sponsorship market after the Premier League’s ban on front-of-shirt betting sponsors.
We have also seen Chelsea’s struggles with finding the right front-of-shirt sponsorship. By seeking out the right deal the Blues have forfeited tens of millions of pounds in recent seasons.
It is crucial that United haven’t followed suit.
With Hopkinson and the Newcastle United owners looking to seek out global, organic commercial opportunities for the club, the KNOX deal is hopefully a sign of things to come for Newcastle.