Qualifying for the Champions League would not just be a game-changer for Newcastle United on the field. It would also open up new doors off it, too, if Eddie Howe's side manage to get over the line in the coming weeks.
It is certainly a lot easier to justify a big-money sponsorship deal is of fair market value if you are a Champions League club and it is Newcastle's kit partners who really stand to benefit if the Magpies return to Europe's top table for the first time in 20 years. UEFA's sponsors are centralised, which means the same brands are promoted inside each of the stadiums in the competition, but the clubs still have full autonomy over who is their front of shirt sponsor, sleeve sponsor and training kit sponsor for European fixtures.
This, in turn, gives these brands increased visibility in foreign markets they would not ordinarily have, which will have been a factor in any talks Newcastle will have held with potential partners of late, including those battling it out for an eight-figure-a-year front of shirt contract. As lucrative as this deal will be - the biggest in the club's history - it is unlikely to be the last.
