Stadium Naming-Rights Deal A Steal For Wonga As It Only Pays $2.4M A Year

EPL Newcastle United's controversial new sponsor Wonga "is paying the club £1.5M ($2.4M) a year for the naming rights to St. James’ Park," which is less than half the valuation estimated by sports marketing experts, according to Alex Miller of the London DAILY MAIL. It has been revealed that "Newcastle commissioned an investigation into the valuation of naming rights prior to rubber-stamping the Wonga deal" and was informed it could expect to command between £3M-4M ($4.8M-6.4M) each year. Newcastle has "actually signed two separate contracts with the loan firm." The stadium-naming rights deal "will run for four-and-a-half years, while Wonga has also agreed to a four-year shirt sponsorship deal, starting next season, which is worth between £6M-8M ($9.6M-12.8M) a year" (DAILY MAIL, 10/20).