How relegation could cost Spurs more than £250m

BBC Sport explores the potential financial impact should Spurs be relegated to the Championship. How relegation could cost Spurs more than £250mImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Since 14 December, Spurs have collected seven points from 14 matches, the lowest in the Premier League in that periodByDaniel AustinBBC Sport senior journalistPublished31 minutes agoThe prospect of one of the Premier League's six wealthiest clubs being relegated to the Championship should be essentially impossible, given the immense resouces they have at their disposal.But with 10 games left to play Tottenham Hotspur are just a point above 18th-placed West Ham, and in the kind of wretched run of form that makes it difficult to see where enough points are going to come from.With Wolves and Burnley almost certainly set to occupy the bottom two places at the end of the season, and the likes of the Hammers, Nottingham Forest, and Leeds still at risk too, Spurs are by no means favourites for the drop.But they are now at enormous risk.So, what would be the financial impact on Spurs if the unthinkable really does happen?How would Spurs' income be impacted?Spurs earned £690m worth of income last year, according to data from the Uefa European club finance and investment landscape report, putting them ninth overall in Europe.That income would take a serious hit if they were to drop into the Championship.According to BBC Sport analysis, the reduction could be as much as £261m overall.One key area in which they would be harmed is ticket revenue, which earned the club £130m, the fifth-highest across the continent.Currently, Spurs charge an average of £76 per fan for each home match, with only five clubs in Europe costing more.Since building their new stadium for around £1bn, Spurs have focused heavily on selling hospitality tickets and corporate packages for matches in order to maximise matchday takings.But they will simply not be able to charge the same amount for an opening day fixture against a side like Lincoln City - who are currently chasing promotion from League One - in the second tier in August, should they ultimately finish in the bottom three, and a drop in attendances would likely occur too.Elsewhere, Spurs' broadcast revenue would plummet too. They would no longer have access to the funds generated from the Premier League's lucrative domestic and international broadcast deals, which last year meant Ipswich Town earned more in broadcast revenue than Barcelona.And the tens of millions they earn from Champions League TV income will drop to nothing, unless they manage to win the tournament, which would guarantee them a place in next year's competition even if they are playing second-tier football.Furthermore, the club-record £269m of commercial income Spurs earned last year would likely take significant damage. Sponsorships such as kit manufacturer Nike and front-of-shirt sponsors AIA's deals (worth around £70m combined annually) will have their values slashed thanks to relegation clauses.Playing four more home matches in the Championship could also have an impact on Spurs' ability to host other lucrative events and concerts, which the club has heavily focused on."For a club of Spurs' ambitions and financial scale, relegation would not simply be a short-term sporting setback", says football finance expert Kieran Maguire. "The economics of English football make recovery a multi-year project."Expenses wouldn't drop enough to make up the differenceSpurs lost £129m last year, according to the data, and the risk of even greater losses going forward if relegated is evident.In some regards, Spurs' expenses would be reduced by dropping to the Championship. It has been widely reported, for example, that their players' contracts include a clause dropping their salaries by 50% in case of relegation.If that clause is inserted into the contract of every player in the squad, then last year's record wage bill of £276m could be turned into £138m when the contractual period ticks over to the new season on 1 July.But in a variety of other ways outgoings would remain the same, and potentially even rise.One of the major financial issues clubs across the continent have been facing in recent years is rising operational costs, including things like utilities, transport, insurance, marketing, and administration.Last year, Spurs had the third-highest operating costs in all of Europe, paying out £260m. That was a rise of £27m on the previous year, and the figure could rise again if essentials like energy prices continue to increase in the wider global economy.Many of those day-to-day operating bills won't simply be reduced by playing at a lower level - the price for powering the stadium for a night match against Norwich City in the Championship is the same as doing so for Newcastle in the Premier League.Spurs also had 877 full-time employees last year, an increase of 57 on the previous year, giving them the 12th-biggest workforce in Europe.Barring a cull of that workforce, Spurs will ha