Newcastle agree expanded KNOX deal worth up to £78m

Newcastle United have agreed a three-year front-of-shirt sponsorship with KNOX Hydration worth up to £60m, expanding a partnership that already includes training-ground naming rights and training-kit sleeve inventory.The South African sports drinks company will replace Sela as Newcastle’s main shirt partner from the 2026–27 season.KNOX will pay up to £10m in the first year before the annual value rises to as much as £25m in each of the following two seasons, subject to performance-related bonuses.The reduced opening-year fee reflects the timing of the agreement, with Newcastle’s new home shirt already released without a sponsor after the production deadline had passed.KNOX branding will therefore be applied outside adidas’ normal manufacturing process.Supporters who have bought authentic sponsorless shirts are expected to be offered the option of having the logo added without charge, although the same arrangement may not apply to replica versions.The shirt agreement follows a separate three-year deal worth £6m annually that will see Newcastle’s Darsley Park training centre renamed The KNOX from July 1.KNOX will also appear on the sleeve of Newcastle’s training kit, taking the combined potential value of the two agreements to £78m over three years.That equates to as much as £26m annually when the full package is spread across its term, compared with the reported £22.5m-a-year value of the outgoing Sela relationship.Newcastle selected KNOX following a lengthy tender process that attracted interest from several businesses, including prominent companies from the local area.The financial package offered by KNOX is understood to have exceeded the rival bids.David Hopkinson, Newcastle United chief executive, previously commented: “This is a message to the marketplace. It confirms companies are energised by our status as a challenger brand and want to come on that journey with us, and shows the types of people we want to partner with.“We have a high conviction we can win together. That’s the journey we want to go on together.”The agreement is particularly important because KNOX is not linked to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Newcastle’s majority shareholder.Sela is owned by PIF, meaning the previous shirt agreement was treated as an associated-party transaction under Premier League regulations.A partnership with an independent company provides Newcastle with third-party commercial income that should attract less scrutiny under league rules governing owner-linked transactions.Newcastle and KNOX also plan to develop a club-linked drinks brand, creating a product and revenue stream beyond conventional sponsorship rights.The project could contribute additional income as Newcastle adjust to the Premier League’s squad-cost rules, which tie permitted spending more closely to annual revenue.John Schaefer, KNOX Hydration chief executive, stated: “You feel all this energy around the place of, ‘Hey, we’re going to be No 1 within five years, not within 20 years.’ That’s really exciting and feels like a natural fit for us.“Our product, we genuinely believe, is the best thing a multi-million-dollar athlete can put into their fine-tuned body. I could put our name on a stadium, but what has that got to do with us? A training ground makes perfect sense.”KNOX was co-founded by former UFC middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis and markets a range of caffeine-free hydration products.The company is launching in the UK this summer and will use Newcastle’s Premier League reach to accelerate awareness outside South Africa.Newcastle are also pursuing a separate front-of-training-kit sponsor, with KNOX occupying the sleeve rather than the central branding position.The club generated £120.2m in commercial revenue during 2024–25, up from £21m before the 2021 takeover but still well below the traditional Premier League elite.The KNOX package represents one of Newcastle’s largest independent commercial agreements since the takeover and supports Hopkinson’s effort to broaden the club’s sponsor base.