Newcastle United will confirm their new front-of-shirt sponsor for the 2026/27 season very soon.
Newcastle United are set to announce their new front-of-shirt sponsor for the next three seasons.
KNOX Hydration will be confirmed as Newcastle’s new front-of-shirt sponsor, as exclusively revealed by our sister title The Shields Gazette.
It comes after the club’s 2026/27 Adidas home shirt went on sale last week without a sponsor in place. But, as previously reported by The Gazette, the club had lined one up behind the scenes to be announced at a later date.
New sponsor set to be announced
The Magpies are expected to officially announce KNOX as the new front-of-shirt sponsor next week. It follows up on the previously announced training ground partnership which will see Darsley Park rebranded as The KNOX from July 1.
It comes after Newcastle’s £70million three-year shirt sponsorship deal with Sela ended this summer. While the total sponsorship package with KNOX is understood to be worth around £80million, the structure of the deal has been met with some scepticism from supporters.
While Sela’s shirt sponsorship was £70million for shirt sponsorship alone, KNOX’s deal will be an initial £10million for the first season plus a further £25million in seasons two and three.
So the shirt sponsorship package alone is worth around £60million - less than the Sela deal. But with various bonuses and the £18million in training ground sponsorship bundled in, the total package will be worth more.
Newcastle United excited over KNOX deal
Sources have indicated that there is genuine excitement over the partnership internally at Newcastle. It will include future activations, commercial opportunities and represents a strong financial package in a difficult market.
Newcastle were one of several Premier League clubs to release their new shirt without a sponsor on the front this summer, such is the nature of the market. The Gazette understands many clubs have agreed cut-price deals with shirt sponsors this summer, many below £10million per season.
For example, Everton’s new kit-sponsorship deal with CMC Markets is understood to be worth £6million per season over five seasons (£30million total) and marks a cut-price deal compared to the club’s £10million-per-season partnership with previous sponsors, Stake.com.
Newcastle and Everton could be seen as commercially comparable given their size, support and position in the Premier League last season.
Can NUFC bridge the gap?
While the KNOX deal will give Newcastle a commercial boost over the teams they finished around in the Premier League last season, it won’t help close the gap on the traditional ‘big six’ alone. They will have to explore other avenues to do that.
But with Newcastle missing out on European football and finishing 12th in the Premier League, securing a lucrative front-of-shirt sponsor was always likely to be difficult. The KNOX agreement is seen as a success internally given the circumstances.
Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson has previously described KNOX as a ‘world-class partner’ for the club. He has also outlined his ambitions to make the club one of the best in the world by 2030.
While the KNOX deal marks a slight increase in the club’s commercial revenue over a three-year period, it also locks the club into three years of potentially losing ground on the teams above them who have more lucrative deals.
Continue Reading