Newcastle United eye 'premium' sponsor as Premier League face change to rule made to stop them

A proposed change to the Premier League's sponsorship rules is 'interesting' as a Saudi sponsor may be willing to pay a 'premium fee' to partner with Newcastle United.

That is the view of football finance expert Kieran Maguire ahead of top-flight clubs voting on tabled amendments to associated party transaction (APT) regulations in London on Friday. These rules ensure all commercial deals with companies linked to a club's owners are independently assessed to establish they are of fair market value.

Among the tweaks that will be debated at the end of the week is that the definition of fair market value is changed slightly from whether the amount 'would' be sold between willing parties to whether it 'could' be sold between willing parties. The phrase 'in normal conditions' has been removed as well as several paragraphs outlining the Premier League's definition of what that means.

READ MORE: I'm a scout and Newcastle United have pulled off a 'very smart' transfer ahead of 'top' rivals

READ MORE: Newcastle United plea made as Kevin Keegan tribute planned at St James' Park

This feels potentially relevant for Newcastle, among others, as 'normal market conditions' might not always apply if companies in the Middle East want to sponsor an ambitious Premier League side. Sela, for instance, were prepared to pay a competitive sum to be Newcastle's shirt sponsor as part of the Saudi events company's global expansion and the deal was found to be of fair market value in 2023 before the APT rules were tightened even further earlier this year.

"The reason why that's interesting is that what could be of value to a potential sponsor might be greater than what it would be worth to other sponsors," Maguire told the Price of Football. "Let's take Manchester City and Abu Dhabi-based sponsors and Newcastle United and Saudi-based sponsors.

"It could be worth more to a Saudi-based sponsor to pay what might be seen to be a premium fee because they feel they would get additional benefit within Saudi Arabia itself in terms of the local market, in terms of attracting buyers to their products, than on a more global basis. That's the first thing.

"Secondly, the Premier League has deleted where it refers to 'normal market conditions' in relation to the value of a sponsorship agreement so under normal market conditions, a deal from a white label gambling company is worth £10m. Well, that no longer applies so, again, you could say, 'These are abnormal market conditions. We believe that this particular club offers us a unique opportunity to get into the Premier League and, therefore, we're willing to pay a premium for that.' That benefits the sponsor, in theory. They get the sponsorship. That then benefits the football club."

Manchester City have claimed the Premier League have 'rushed through' the consultation process on 'unlawful' changes, but the top-flight insisted it had acted 'fairly, transparently and responsibly in circulating considered proposals for consultation in a prompt manner' following their recent arbitration battle against the champions. The Premier League have consulted member clubs and commercial and competition law expert Daniel Jowell KC, who previously represented Mike Ashley in the former Newcastle owner's legal battle with the top-flight.