Arsenal
Aston Villa
Chelsea
Crystal Palace
Everton
Fulham
Leeds United
Liverpool
Manchester City
Manchester United
Newcastle United
Nottingham Forest
Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur
West Ham United
Wolverhampton Wanderers
News
Newcastle plotting ‘big six’ cash raid as chief speaks out of over £20m deals
Newcastle United mission to increase their spending power within the terms of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules bleeds into everything they do as a club.
They even made a documentary, We Are Newcastle United, largely centred on then-director Amanda Staveley’s quest to boost commercial income last season.
And once again, the talk of Tyneside during the off-season has been how much the club can spend under the Premier League rules, PSR-busting quasi-swap deals, and lucrative new sponsors.
Newcastle narrowly avoided a PSR breach for the three-year period up until 30th June 2024 and, as their £70m loss in 2021-22 has now dropped out of the calculation, should have more flexibility in 2024-25.
But things are still tight, even with the extra cash provided by Newcastle’s new deal with Adidas and their begrudging sales of Elliott Anderson and Yankuba Minteh.
The club continue to explore plans to unlock the Saudi Public Investment Fund’s near-trillion dollar purse, including an ambitious plan to expand St James’ Park.
Newcastle‘s long-term goal is clear: to disrupt the established ‘Big Six’ by any means necessary.
To trac the Magpies’ progress in this mission, TBR Football spoke exclusively to Liverpool University football finance lecturer and Price of Football author and podcast host Kieran Maguire.
READ MORE NEWCASTLE UNITED NEWS: Michael Owen shares where he thinks Newcastle will finish in the Premier League this season
Newcastle’s training ground naming rights and kit sponsor prospects
Since Peter Silverstone was named Newcastle’s chief commercial officer in October 2022, almost a year to the day after PIF’s takeover, he been the most scrutinised commercial tsar in Premier League history.
Given the magnitude of his task, it is easy to see why – commercial revenue is central to PIF’s plan to disrupt the elite and it has already doubled on Silverstone’s watch.
Speaking to recently, the former Arsenal CCO discussed the possibility of Newcastle signing training ground naming rights and training kit sponsor deals.
“Everyone thinks that because some clubs have a training ground sponsor that they fall from the trees,” he said.
“You have to pick the right partner, get the right values, the right fit and it takes time.
“But obviously my job and the job of the team behind me is to maximise the opportunity in every area, whether that’s retail, whether that’s media, whether that’s membership, whether that’s partnerships.
“So we’re looking at all opportunities. I’m aware of what everyone thinks should or shouldn’t be sold. I also know what we are working on and trying to deliver.
“Yeah, absolutely [there has been interest in training ground naming rights and training kit deals]. It’s about what you’ve got to prioritise as well. You can’t go after everything at once.”
From industry sources, we understand that the combined fair market value of training ground and kit rights is likely to be worth around £20m.
What would the structure of those deals look like? Maguire explained: “If Newcastle are able to achieve training ground and training kit sponsors, they are likely to be tiered and incentivised agreements.
“By that, I mean qualifying for Europe will be a large step-ups in the contract.
“However, if that agreement is with a Saudi company, the desire to push down on the value of the contract is likely to be minimal.
“I suspect what Newcastle will do is establish in advance what the maximum that the Fair Market Value panel would consider to be an appropriate price.
“They will then aim for that, with significant financial step-ups should certain goals be achieved.”
Short-term deals look likely for Newcastle
Silverstone also suggested he was reticent to lock Newcastle into long-term commercial contracts only for the value proposition to increase in future.
This is emblematic of an interesting divide between aspirational clubs like Newcastle and the so-called Big Six, who increasingly are striking longer and longer sponsorship deals.
There are exceptions like Chelsea, as Maguire explains, but it is easy to see why Newcastle are keen to give themselves wriggle room and not be blinded by the cheque in front of them at this time.
“We saw Chelsea sign a deal with the mysterious Infinite Athlete company which apparently gave them £40m for three-quarters of a season in 2023-24.
“It looks like they could repeat a 12-month deal for this coming season because they haven’t qualified for the Champions League.
“So, you can see the logic behind Newcastle not wanting to tie themselves up into a long-term relationship with a sponsor if they feel that the club is going to reach a new level, maybe by breaking into the Big Six.
“If they do that, they can charge Big Six prices for contracts.
“One way of addressing that is by having clauses in contracts that deliver bonuses if certain things, such as qualifying for Europe, are achieved.
“However, the overall value can still be lower than if you are starting from a higher base.”
STACK fan zone: How much will it be worth to Newcastle?
The STACK fan zone – a food, drink and leisure made from repurposed shipping containers – is set for its maiden matchday on Saturday, when Newcastle host Southampton at St James’ Park.
The development, which is sponsored by front-of-shirt partner Sela has been marketed as a small taster of what Newcastle fans can expect at a revamped St James’ Park, or perhaps a new stadium entirely.
But, with a new stadium likely to take up to five years to complete, what will the be immediate PSR benefits of the new fan zone?
Maguire cited Tottenham, the Premier League’s kings of matchday income, in his explanation.
“Spurs make around £800,000 per match from catering on a matchday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“However, they make substantial more than that when they have NFL matches, concerts and so on because the prices are increased for a non-football audience.
“If Newcastle can replicate that with a fanzone that is being utilised on non-matchdays that becomes a hub for fans and others, this could be a big additional income stream.
“It will help them to bridge the gap between their current financial status and that of the Big Six, who Newcastle very much have in their sights.”