Tottenham Hotspur finished 17th in the 2025/26 Premier League season, just two points above relegated West Ham. For that, Roberto De Zerbi earned himself a £3 million bonus.

De Zerbi, who was appointed as Spurs head coach in late March 2026, signed a five-year contract running until June 2031. The deal carries a base salary of nearly £12 million per season plus performance incentives, the most notable being that survival clause. He also received expanded authority over men’s first-team football matters.

From the brink to a bonus

De Zerbi himself has called keeping Spurs in the top flight the pinnacle of his managerial career. The £3 million survival bonus was baked into his contract from the start. The club knew when they hired him that avoiding relegation was genuinely uncertain, and they priced that risk directly into the deal.

The crypto angle: $SPURS fan token reacts

The $SPURS fan token, which launched on the Chiliz blockchain in late 2023, saw a 5% price bounce around De Zerbi’s appointment and the club’s successful avoidance of relegation.

Tottenham signed Kraken as its official crypto and Web3 partner in July 2024, a deal that extended the exchange’s visibility across Tottenham’s global platform.

What this means for investors

The $SPURS token’s reaction to De Zerbi’s tenure offers a useful case study. Managerial appointments, relegation battles, and league survival can all create short-term trading opportunities in fan tokens. The catalysts are visible weeks in advance — you can see a relegation battle forming on the league table long before the final matchday.

De Zerbi’s expanded authority over first-team matters and the five-year contract signal commitment from both sides to a long-term rebuild.