Sources: Premier League respond to £7.5m Newcastle United sponsor controversy
The Premier League will not confirm key details about their Fair Market Value (FMV) assessment amid questions surrounding the controversial Newcastle United partnership with PIF-linked Noon.com, Football Insider has learned.
FMV was introduced after the Newcastle takeover in October last year as rivals feared the new Saudi owners would use their other business to artificially inflate the club’s revenue and thereby their ability to spend under Financial Fair Play.
In June, the Magpies agreed a reported £7.5million-a-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Noon.com, a Middle East e-commerce platform part owned by PIF.
Analysis published by Off The Pitch in collaboration with JMW Solicitors’ Ben Peppi last Monday (10 October) found that figure is well above the going rate for a sleeve deal outside the so-called Big Six – most clubs earn between £500,000 and £2m annually.
But the deal was given the nod by the FMV panel, who use an independent expert to assess the value of commercial arrangements and take into account factors such as a club’s fanbase, social media following and on-field success.
This has sparked questions about how exactly the top flight’s FMV criteria are being implemented.
But the Premier League refused to provide a comment when asked by Football Insider whether it had yet rejected any commercial deal on the basis of FMV.
They also failed to confirm if they have liaised – i.e provided ex-ante details about what they consider fair value – with clubs prior to the filing of sponsorship deals with the FMV committee.
When pressed, the Premier League would not state whether it was their official policy not to disclose internal operational details in this area.
Football Insider has spoken to legal experts who confirmed that to give non-specific details about the implementation of FMV would not violate any data protection commitments the Premier League has to its clubs.
Teams were required to submit details of any existing commercial arrangements worth more than £100,000 per year with the Premier League after FMV was introduced, meaning hundreds of deals have been checked.
Newcastle CEO Darren Eales recently claimed that the club would continue to make use of their owners’ huge repository of business partners when seeking sponsorship.
He identified a naming rights deal for St James’ Park as one way that the club could raise funds as they look to challenge the orthodoxy in the Premier League.
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