Manchester United's new shirt sponsorship deal with American carmakers Chevrolet is worth an "incredible" £357million between now and 2021, according to reports - more than double what their current package brings in.
When the seven-year deal was announced earlier this week, it was reported it would see the Old Trafford side rake in around £28m per season.
Now however, reports originating in the US, where United are in the process of selling 10% of the club on the New York Stock Exchange, suggest that those figures were a massive underestimate.
While Chevrolet won't replace insurers Aon as United's shirt sponsors until the 2014-15 season, figures presented to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by the club are said to claim they will receive 'fees' of about $18.6m (around £11m at current exchange rates) from them in the coming season and the 2013-14 campaign.
Then, in 2014-15, United will receive a whopping $70m (£44.75m) in return for carrying the Chevrolet logo on their shirts, with the amount paid rising by 2.1 per cent in each following season until 2020-2021.
The reports add that the news comes against the backdrop of the resignation of Joel Ewanick, who was chief marketing officer of Chevrolet's parent firm, General Motors, and had been involved in negotiating the deal with United.
A General Motors spokesman said Ewanick "failed to meet the expectations the company has for its employees."
Ewanick's departure was announced last Sunday night, the reports continue - just hours before news of the United's Chevrolet sponsorship broke, but several days after the deal was signed.
One marketing sector expert, who was reportedly involved in negotiating one of United's previous shirt sponsorship deals, with Vodafone, marvelled at the agreement with Chevrolet.
"It's incredible, unbelievable," he said.
In another story, a sponsorship consultant said United's Chevrolet agreement smashed the previous record set by Barcelona's $39.1m-a-year - £25m - deal with the Qatar Foundation.
"The increase between Aon and Chevrolet I'd say is unprecedented," he admitted.
As recently as 2006, that same story adds, Vodafone were paying £8m-a-year to have their logo on United's shirts - they were replaced by a £14m-a-year deal with financial-services firm AIG that ran until 2010, when Aon took over at £19.6m per season.
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