Newcastle strike £60m deal as KNOX land front-of-shirt sponsorship - Report

Newcastle United have agreed a three-year front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with KNOX Hydrate, the same company that will sponsor the training ground.

It was recently announced that Newcastle's Benton training ground will be called The KNOX from next season after the South African sports drink company agreed a deal to sponsor the site.

Now it seems that the drinks brand is going all-in with Newcastle United, as revealed by a Shields Gazette exclusive earlier today. 

The Athletic has reported that the Magpies have agreed a £60m deal with KNOX to be the front-of-shirt sponsor for the next three seasons.

That's a £15m decrease on the deal that saw Sela occupy the front-of-shirt spot for the last three seasons, although add-ons could see the deal become more lucrative. 

Newcastle could bag £78m from the deal with KNOX

It turns out that the decrease in revenue isn't for the reasons first thought. KNOX will pay just £10m for the first year, as the home shirts have already gone on sale with no sponsor; years two and three will cost KNOX £25 million each, which is what Sela was paying.

With the £6m a year for the training ground on top of this, and the fact that Newcastle and KNOX will work together to create a club-linked drinks line, Newcastle could end up pocketing £78 million in total from this partnership.

KNOX's website homepage already displays a massive Newcastle United crest, so the partnership is already in full swing, but we are still waiting for official confirmation from the club at the time of writing.

You can 'KNOX up' your blank home shirt for free

Fans who have already bought the home shirt with no sponsor will be able to have the KNOX logo added free of charge at club shops.

Whether you feel the KNOX logo breaks up the hideousness of the shirt or adds to it is entirely subjective.

Our concern now is how it will affect the upcoming blue away and pink third kits. That blue shirt, if it's accurate, could be popular, and we'd quite like to have got our mitts on it without a sponsor on the front.