So, that’s another football season done – for now anyway. We’ve obviously got the World Cup to come but the domestic competitions are over and there have been winners and losers as is the nature of competitive sport. Brighton and Hove Albion qualified for the Europa Conference League, which is a huge achievement, and of course Arsenal won the Premier League after 22 years of waiting. I’m sure you are all as delighted as I am for that.
As we would expect, the day after the final games there’s been much rumour about who will stay and who will go both in managerial and playing positions. Many managers have already had their futures confirmed by renewal of their contracts or having announced that they will be moving to pastures new. Clubs are releasing their retained lists which indicate who of their current personnel will be playing for them next season and who must find other opportunities.
However you might feel about clubs going down to the lower leagues, do spare a thought for those far removed from the limelight who are losing their jobs due to the performance of their on-field colleagues.
Who Really Loses When a Football Club Goes Down?
The financial implications of relegation are significant. Clubs being relegated from the Premier League to the Championship face losing between £50m and £150m. This is typically due to broadcasting income dropping by 70-90%, sponsorship deals shrinking and matchday income plummeting too. Some could be hit even worse. According to FourFourTwo.com, despite Tottenham being on the verge of relegation for so long, they were so ill-prepared for playing in the second tier that their playing staff did not have salary reduction clauses in their contracts. It was estimated that dropping out of the Premier League would see their revenue plunge by £261m. The journal said the impact of relegation would have triggered a multiyear recovery project from which, I would suggest, they would emerge almost unrecognisable.
The Hidden Human Toll of the Football Pyramid
Clubs relegated from the Premier League do receive parachute payments for the first three years but those sinking further down the football pyramid do not. A team relegated from the Championship to League One lose £20m-£40m while being relegated a further level can reduce revenues by £3m. Although figures aren’t immediately available, being relegated from the Football League to National League can be absolutely devastating. Proportionately, the relative pain it’s worse lower down the pyramid because those clubs already in the lower leagues have less of a financial cushion. For example, a Premier League club losing £100m will feel the effects but they have a better chance of financial recovery than a League Two club for whom losing £2m might make them unable to pay any wages.
As with any business suffering a financial crisis, football clubs must make cuts where they can. Players and managers are often contractually protected from financial hits but those most vulnerable after relegation tend to be those we never hear about. Commercial and marketing staff, hospitality and matchday workers, those in catering and other operational departments, academy coaches and scouts and analysts and performance personnel can seem low hanging fruit for clubs looking to balance the books. When relegated clubs are in already deprived areas, they provide important employment opportunities for local people. Associated businesses also thrive when a club is flying high but take the pain when fortunes are reversed.
This means that when a club is relegated whilst they might shed players, managers and coaches they will inevitably thrust hundreds more into the local job market. This might not be the most fruitful environment even in times of plenty but with so many losing their jobs because of a single point or marginally poorer goal difference, the future can be very bleak indeed.
Beyond the Pitch: Jobs, Livelihoods and the Relegation Trap
So whilst it is of course all part of the game that teams will fare better than others, some teams progress while others will be relegated and we express relief when it is our team who has lived to fight another season, do spare a thought for those who have no direct involvement in match day performance but whose livelihoods hang on the literal ups and downs of a season. Whilst rivalry might make your heart leap at the misfortunes of your nemesis team, others’ lives will be devastated and it is with them our sympathies should lie.
I originally wrote this for my weekly column in The Argus, published on Monday, 1 June 2026.
