KNOX on the Toon: A South African Drinks Brand Just Won £60m of Premier League Shirt Space
According to multiple reports, Newcastle United have agreed a three-year front-of-shirt deal worth around £60million ($80.6m) with KNOX Hydration, the South African sports-drinks company co-founded by former UFC Middleweight champion Dricus Du Plessis. KNOX takes over from Sela, the brand owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) - Newcastle's majority owners - that has fronted the shirt since the 2021 takeover.
The Numbers
The shirt deal builds on a separate £6m-a-year, three-year agreement under which Newcastle's Darsley Park training base is renamed"The KNOX" from 1 July, with KNOX also taking the sleeve of training wear across the Men's, Women's and Academy teams.
For 2026-27, KNOX will pay around £10m for the shirt - softened because Newcastle's new home kit went on sale last week without a sponsor, the deal landing after the production cut-off. For the following two seasons that climbs to up to £25m a year depending on bonuses, with the £6m naming-rights fee layered on top each year. Club insiders say the overall package exceeds the previous Sela arrangement.
The badge missed the production lines, so KNOX logos will be pressed onto shirts after the fact - and supporters who already bought the (much-debated) £85 Adidas jersey will be able to take it to club shops and have the sponsor added free of charge. The two sides also plan to launch a co-branded drinks brand, a fresh revenue line aimed squarely at the Premier League's incoming squad-cost rules.
Why Newcastle needed a non-Saudi name
Newcastle's commercial revenue has grown roughly fivefold since the takeover, but it still trails the established "Big Six," and a meaningful slice of it has come from PIF-related companies - what the Premier League classifies as associated-party transactions (APTs). The Premier League has loosened its APT rules following Manchester City's legal challenges, but UEFA's remain tighter. To build revenue that counts cleanly toward both, Newcastle have to diversify beyond Saudi-linked partners.
KNOX is exactly that: a genuinely independent, fair-value deal struck in a tough front-of-shirt market hit by tightened gambling-sponsorship rules.
CEO David Hopkinson, Newcastle United Football Club’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) framed it as more than a logo on fabric:
"This isn't just a branding exercise; it's a performance-led partnership that will also support our community." He added that KNOX "share our relentless ambition to disrupt the status quo and reach the pinnacle of our respective industries."
Source: Chronicle Live
