Revealed: Newcastle United on course for £40m windfall as paperwork filed
Newcastle United are on course to earn as much as £40million in commercial income in 2022-23, Football Insider analysis shows.
The Magpies earned £26.5m from sponsorship and merchandising in 2021-22, as per their annual accounts released last Friday (31 March).
That itself represented a 52 per cent increase on the 2020-21 campaign, which was the final full season of the Mike Ashley era, during which commercial revenue stagnated.
The Saudi Public Investment Fund, whose historic takeover of the club was completed in October 2021, have since implemented a new strategic commercial plan.
Darren Eales was appointed as CEO after the 2021-22 financial year and has stressed the centrality of commercial revenue to Newcastle’s sporting ambitions.
Former Arsenal executive Peter Silverstone was named chief commercial officer in October last year, which again falls within the 2022-23 financial year.
The pair have since set about signing a bevvy of new sponsorship deals, many of them with companies linked directly to PIF, whose business portfolio is one of the world’s most illustrious.
Chief among those is the deal with e-commerce platform Noon, which replaced previous sleeve sponsor Kayak at the start of the current campaign.
It is understood that deal alone – which is worth £7.5m and, sources have told this site, will extend into next season – could add up to £4m to Newcastle’s previous commercial total.
Silverstone has also secured deals with esports brand VOV, energy drinks company Monster Energy, and hair transplant clinic Dr Cinik.
Data seen by Football Insider shows that Newcastle United earns £1.2m per year from their deal with trading platform eToro, and those consulted by this site believe the new deals will be worth roughly the same if not slightly more.
Newcastle have expanded their physical retail presence too, with a new shop at the nearby Metrocentre opening in March last year.
Thanks to their remarkable performance on the pitch, replica shirts have been flying off the shelves both there and at the St James’ Park club shop, both of which are operated by technical sponsor Castore.
While most of the income from the Castore deal comes from the base rate rather than shirt sales, the commission they receive per unit will register noticeably in next year’s accounts.
Newcastle are, however, locked into a long-term deal with the sportswear company that director Amanda Staveley has described as “difficult.”
Indeed, there is frustration behind the scenes at many of the deals that have been inherited from the Ashley era.
The partnerships with Castore and Fun88 – who will be replaced as front-of-shirt sponsor next season – are worth around £5m annually.
That means the club is in the unusual position of having a sleeve deal more lucrative than the two prize items in their sponsorship inventory.
While that may be frustrating in the short term, it also illustrates the scope Newcastle have to negotiate bigger and better deals now that the club is free of Ashley and, therefore, more commercially attractive.
Newcastle have also launched the Business Club initiative to encourage cooperation with local companies, and they will bank a seven-figure sum for their upcoming Amazon documentary.
Performance-related bonuses from sponsors will almost certainly carry Newcastle beyond the £40m mark all told, especially if Eddie Howe steers his side to Champions League qualification.
Added to that will be a sizable increase in central commercial cash from the Premier League, whose landmark deals with EA Sports and Sorare could be worth as much as £6.5m extra annually to Newcastle.
Commercial growth on Tyneside will continue exponentially in the coming years too.
Significantly, a new front-of-shirt sponsor may be worth three times as much as the previous arrangement and naming rights deals for St James’ Park and the Darsley Park training complex have been mooted.
In other news, Newcastle United now in pole position to sign James Maddison.