Manchester United's £900m Adidas kit deal could be cut in half — and potentially ended altogether — if the club are relegated from the Premier League. The club's own annual report confirms the clauses, and they have moved from a remote hypothetical to a live concern after United entered the November international break in the relegation zone.

Michael Carrick's side sit 18th after taking just eight points from their opening 10 league matches, with only one win all season. They are without a victory in their last eight top-flight fixtures, equalling the club's longest winless run in Premier League history. Sunday's extraordinary 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford, rescued by two stoppage-time goals, did little to change the picture.

What the Adidas contract says about relegation

United agreed a 10-year extension to their partnership with Adidas in July 2023, running through to June 2035. The extension carries a minimum guarantee of £900m, on top of the £750m guaranteed under the original agreement, taking the total contractual guarantee across the extended partnership to £1.65bn, subject to adjustments.

However, the club's annual report for the financial year ending 30 June 2026 confirms that those payments are not fully protected if results collapse. Under the agreement, Adidas has the right to reduce the applicable payments for any year by 50% if United's men's first team are not competing in the Premier League. At the deal's average of around £90m a year, that would mean payments falling to about £45m for each season spent outside the top flight.

The agreement also gives Adidas the option of terminating the partnership by giving one full season's notice if United are relegated from the Premier League or are otherwise excluded from England's top division. That does not mean termination would automatically follow relegation, but it would hand the manufacturer a contractual route out of one of football's most lucrative kit deals.

Champions League clause has already cost United

The Adidas agreement contains a second performance penalty, and that one has already bitten. From the 2025-26 season onwards, the deal includes a £10m deduction for each campaign in which the men's team do not play in the Champions League. United's failure to qualify for the 2025-26 competition has already triggered one such deduction.

There is no suggestion that Adidas has taken any action over United's current league position. The relegation provisions would only become relevant if the club actually dropped out of the Premier League at the end of the season, and the financial consequences would depend on their final position.

United's worst start in 40 years

The scale of the on-pitch problem is stark. United's position after 10 matches is their lowest at this stage of a top-flight season since 1986-87, when Ron Atkinson was replaced by Sir Alex Ferguson in November 1986. They have not played outside England's top flight since the 1974-75 campaign, when they won immediate promotion from the Second Division, and they have never been relegated during the Premier League era, which began in 1992.

Their 15th-place finish in 2024-25 was already their worst final position since the competition's formation, and this season has started even worse. Carrick's side have conceded 19 league goals in 10 games, and their next fixture after the international break is a trip to Liverpool on 22 November.

For now, relegation remains a hypothetical outcome with most of the season still to play. But the club's own financial filings establish precisely what could be at stake if their worst start in four decades eventually ends in an unprecedented Premier League relegation.

Frequently asked questions

How much could Manchester United lose from the Adidas deal if relegated? Adidas could cut its annual payments by 50% for any season United spend outside the Premier League, reducing payments from around £90m a year to about £45m, and could also terminate the deal on one full season's notice.

Where is Manchester United in the Premier League? United entered the November international break in 18th place with eight points from 10 matches, having won only once this season.

Sources: Sports Mole and Yardbarker.