Premier League clubs have voted to pass a new set of rules which mean Newcastle United can sign new sponsorship deals within weeks.
The top division’s 20 clubs met today and, according to Sam Wallace of the Telegraph, they voted to pass a new set of rules governing related-party commercial deals.
Any such deals had been blocked since October when eighteen of the Premier League clubs voted for a temporary ban - Newcastle United voted against the ban and Manchester City abstained. The ban was a response to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund buying Newcastle United from Mike Ashley.
According to the Telegraph, the new rules will require that any related-party deals, which means entities connected to a club’s owners, will have to be approved by the Premier League to ensure they are not artificially valued above a fair market value.
In an article last week ahead of the vote, the Telegraph reported : “It will be the responsibility of the Premier League legal department to analyse the value of new commercial deals for Newcastle, or any other club, and decide whether they represent fair market value.”
Clubs are currently restricted on how much they can spend over their income. As a result, Newcastle’s rivals had feared that a Saudi company related to the owners would sign an artificially inflated sponsorship deal. That would have enabled Newcastle to greatly increase their ceiling for wages and transfer fees.
With the Sports Direct signs now removed from St James’ Park, there is speculation that new sponsors could be in place quickly, with the Telegraph reporting that deals might be agreed before the New Year.
