Tottenham Hotspur players are set to receive a major blow to their income if they suffer relegation this season
Tottenham players will take a massive hit to their earnings if the club suffers relegation this season. It was unthinkable prior to this season that Spurs would actually find themselves in a relegation dogfight, even with their 17th-place finish last term as a result of an injury crisis.
But after two managerial sackings and 32 games played, Tottenham are now 18th in the Premier League and two points away from safety. Even the recent appointment of Roberto De Zerbi did not pay off as the Lilywhites suffered a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland at the weekend, which saw them officially slide into the relegation zone for the first time.
With captain Cristian Romero walking off the pitch injured in tears, there is very little to be optimistic about for a team which has not won a Premier League game in 2026. But there is still plenty of incentive for the players to fight on in the last six games of the season - not only for the sake of their own pride but also financially.
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That’s because Spurs bosses have implemented a stringent financial contingency plan which would see their squad of stars take a huge hit to their earnings if they are relegated to the Championship. Should the unthinkable happen, the players who remain at the club would see their weekly wages slashed by as much as 50 per cent, according to The Athletic.
For example, summer signing Xavi Simons and skipper Romero would see the biggest drop in wages, with their respective current £195,000 deals becoming a £97,500 per week contract.
This ‘relegation protection’ measure is in place to ensure the financial books stay balanced. It is understood to be a significantly higher reduction than the standard industry average, which usually sees players lose around 20 to 30 per cent of their salary following a drop to the English second tier.
Players would have been aware of such clauses relating to poor on-pitch performance when signing for the club or signing a new contract. The measure would also mean Spurs are under less pressure to suddenly offload players if they are relegated - but there is a real chance several players would not accept such a drastic decrease in their pay package and may seek a move away.
football.london now takes a look at Spurs' wage bill in comparison to what it could look like by the summer following a 50 per cent decrease on all player earnings, with the current 2026/27 payroll figures provided by Spotrac:
Xavi Simons: £195,000 > £97,500
Cristian Romero: £195,000 > £97,500
James Maddison: £170,000 > £85,000
Conor Gallagher: £160,000 > £80,000
Mohamed Kudus: £150,000 > £75,000
Dominic Solanke: £140,000 > £70,000
Dejan Kulusevski: £110,000 > £55,000
Micky van de Ven: £90,000 > £45,000
Richarlison: £90,000 > £45,000
Pedro Porro: £85,000 > £42,500
Radu Dragusin: £85,000 > £42,500
Guglielmo Vicario: £75,000 > £37,500
Destiny Udogie: £75,000 > £37,500
Archie Gray: £75,000 > £37,500
Pape Sarr: £70,000 > £35,000
Kevin Danso: £65,000 > £32,500
Manor Solomon: £60,000 > £30,000
Lucas Bergvall: £60,000 > £30,000
Mathys Tel: £55,000 > £27,500
Djed Spence: £40,000 > £20,000