Tottenham: What will happen if Spurs get relegated from the Premier League?

Twice in the space of two weeks Tottenham Hotspur players have been on the verge of waterworks - Cristian Romero at Sunderland after his season-ending knee injury, and multiple white-clad athletes on Saturday after another afternoon of heartbreak.

A Xavi Simons stunner at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would ostensibly be enough to beat Brighton & Hove Albion and give Spurs their first Premier League win of 2026 at the 14th attempt, but Georginio Rutter found a soul-crushing equaliser late on to steal a 2-2 draw for Roberto De Zerbi's old employers.

And just like that, Spurs were cruelly dragged back below the dotted line, still lying 18th in the Premier League table and one point adrift of West Ham United, who play their game in hand against Crystal Palace on Monday night.

As the hitherto unthinkable threat of demotion becomes ever more realistic, Sports Mole explores what would happen to Tottenham if the Europa League holders drop down to the Championship for the first time in the Premier League era.

How much money will Tottenham lose if they get relegated?

Financial positives are few and far between for Tottenham right now, but the Lilywhites' progression to the last 16 of the Champions League has at least pushed their European prize money up by over an estimated 200%, even after their Europa League triumph last season.

However, the well-documented Premier League TV revenues would be no more for Tottenham in the second tier; from a £127m TV revenue package in 2024-25, Spurs' income from such streams in the Championship could drop by a staggering £80m.

Spurs' matchday revenue from attendances is likely to be spliced in half too - dropping to between £50m and £70m from £126.7m - given the inevitable fall in ticket prices for Championship football.

An inevitable firesale of players would boost the coffers somewhat, but Tottenham would be in their weakest position yet when it comes to negotiating deals, and rival clubs will know that they can lowball the Lilywhites even for star names on long contracts.

While relegation is not yet a guarantee, Spurs missing out on European football is, and that could have a serious knock-on effect for their commercial deals; sponsors have the power to reduce payments by as much as 20% or withdraw from agreements completely if the club are not competing in Europe.

One saving grace for the Lilywhites would be the stadium's hosting of NFL matches, concerts and other big money-spinning non-football events, but the club would also struggle to finally secure a lucrative naming rights deal for the ground, seeing them miss out on another yearly eight-figure agreement.

Overall, taking reduced TV revenues, ticket price decreases, commercial concerns and a lack of European football into account, Tottenham's revenues could suffer an estimated £250m hit overall.

Which Tottenham players could leave - and stay - if they get relegated?

Tottenham had consistently refused to break their wage structure before making Conor Gallagher their only £200,000-a-week player in January, but those mega deals will be no more in the second division.

Most Spurs players are understood to have mandatory 50% pay-cut clauses inserted into their contracts in the event of relegation - allowing the club to save around £128m for the year - but further cuts, via salary reductions or player sales, would inevitably be needed.

A team that drops down from the Premier League can arguably have no true 'superstars', but Simons - the jewel in the Lilywhites' crown - at least did his prospects of a top-flight return no harm with his stunning goal and assist against Brighton.

The Dutch playmaker has demonstrated raw passion during his mixed time at Tottenham, but he would almost certainly be one of the first out of the door, alongside coveted centre-back duo Romero and Micky van de Ven.

Number one goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is being lined up for a return to Italy too, Joao Palhinha's Bayern Munich loan move would almost certainly not be made permanent - the same goes for Paris Saint-Germain owned Randal Kolo Muani - while Richarlison would also likely complete a move away that has been tipped to happen for some time anyway.

However, the likes of Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and James Maddison would find moves harder to come by given their lengthy spells out injured, and it is not impossible to envisage the latter two staying if the worst happens.

Fan favourites Archie Gray and Mathys Tel - both still at the beginning of their careers - could stick around to lead the Spurs promotion charge too, alongside fellow fledglings Souza, Lucas Bergvall and possibly Mikey Moore too.

Will Roberto De Zerbi leave Tottenham if they get relegated?

Before being offered a lucrative five-year contract by the increasingly desperate powers-that-be, De Zerbi reportedly had no interest in taking on the Tottenham job with no guarantees of a Premier League stay.

However, a long-term deal unsurprisingly turned the Italian's head, and shortly after he replaced the grieving Igor Tudor, he vowed to remain at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium no matter whether Spurs were travelling to the Etihad or Lincoln City's LNER Stadium next season.

De Zerbi would not be easily able to go back on that promise, as his contract is not thought to contain a break clause which would allow him to terminate the agreement in case of relegation, as Tottenham sought a long-term project with the former Brighton boss.

But the boss would not survive the unprecedented pay cuts either, as he is supposedly pocketing around £12m a year under his current terms, and a Championship club paying a manager that much would be unheard of; nevertheless, even a £6m-a-year packet after a 50% decrease would make other head coach's salaries in the division appear totally insignificant.

Tottenham could of course sack De Zerbi for failing to keep them up, but the eight-figure costs associated with offloading the manager - and maybe some of his staff too - would plunge Spurs into even deeper financial oblivion.

De Zerbi did leave Benevento in 2018 immediately after leading them to relegation from Serie A, although a repeat in the English capital is surely beyond the realm of possibility given the reasons outlined above.