EFL Squad Cost Ratio · Championship

Championship SCR: how much can every club spend?

From 2026/27, Championship clubs are capped at 85% of football revenue on squad costs (wages, transfer amortisation, agent fees). Clubs can add up to £15m/season of owner equity on top — but only £33m across any rolling three-year window.

Most Championship clubs currently spend more than 85% of revenue on squad costs. Across the division, staff costs total more than clubs' combined revenue — so the red numbers below are the norm, not the exception. SCR doesn't mean clubs have more to spend; it means the rules are clearer about what happens when they don't comply. The "better off under SCR" narrative refers to parachute clubs gaining more headroom under a revenue-based model, and to enforcement being more transparent — not to widespread compliance.

The table below ranks all 23 Championship clubs by SCR headroom. Click any club for the full breakdown.

Club	Revenue	85% limit	Max (+ top-up)	Squad cost	PSR headroom	SCR headroom	Status
Sheffield United P	£89m estimated	£75.7m	£90.7m	£58m reported	−£8.5m reported	+£17.7m	High spending power
Watford	£57.6m reported	£49m	£64m	£33m reported	+£18.1m reported	+£16m	High spending power
Wrexham	£33.3m reported	£28.3m	£43.3m	£20m reported	—	+£8.4m	High spending power
Stoke City	£32.3m reported	£27.5m	£42.5m	£22.3m reported	−£15.7m estimated	+£5.2m	High spending power
Plymouth Argyle	£25.6m reported	£21.8m	£36.8m	£16.9m reported	+£36.9m reported	+£4.9m	High spending power
Portsmouth	£13.6m reported	£11.6m	£26.6m	£10.6m reported	+£29m estimated	+£960k	High spending power
Bristol City	£40.3m reported	£34.3m	£49.3m	£35.9m reported	−£15m reported	−£1.6m	Balanced
Queens Park Rangers	£25.9m reported	£22m	£37m	£23.8m reported	+£5.2m estimated	−£1.8m	Balanced
Charlton Athletic	£11.2m reported	£9.5m	£24.5m	£12.1m estimated	—	−£2.6m	Restricted
Middlesbrough	£32.2m reported	£27.4m	£42.4m	£31.4m reported	+£600k reported	−£4m	Restricted
Derby County	£31.9m reported	£27.1m	£42.1m	£31.5m reported	+£17m estimated	−£4.4m	Restricted
Blackburn Rovers	£21.4m reported	£18.2m	£33.2m	£25.4m reported	+£21.1m estimated	−£7.2m	Restricted
Preston North End	£16.9m reported	£14.4m	£29.4m	£22m reported	+£7m estimated	−£7.6m	Restricted
Birmingham City	£35.6m reported	£30.3m	£45.3m	£38.9m reported	−£27.4m reported	−£8.6m	Restricted
Southampton P	£85m reported	£72.3m	£87.3m	£81m reported	+£20m reported	−£8.8m	Restricted
Swansea City	£21.5m reported	£18.3m	£33.3m	£27.3m reported	−£12.6m estimated	−£9m	Restricted
West Bromwich Albion	£30.4m reported	£25.8m	£40.8m	£37.1m reported	−£4.2m reported	−£11.3m	Restricted
Millwall	£23.9m reported	£20.3m	£35.3m	£34.2m reported	+£7.6m estimated	−£13.9m	Restricted
Norwich City	£39.3m reported	£33.4m	£48.4m	£48.1m reported	−£25.8m reported	−£14.7m	Restricted
Wolverhampton Wanderers P	£172m reported	£146.2m	£161.2m	£162m reported	−£22.1m reported	−£15.8m	Balanced
Cardiff City	£25.8m reported	£21.9m	£36.9m	£39m reported	−£10.7m reported	−£17.1m	Restricted
Burnley P	£71.7m reported	£60.9m	£75.9m	£82.3m reported	+£40.2m reported	−£21.4m	Restricted
Hull City	£25.8m reported	£21.9m	£36.9m	£47.1m reported	+£10m estimated	−£25.2m	Restricted

How to read this table

85% limit is what SCR guarantees: 85% of estimated football revenue, no owner injection required. Max (+ top-up) is the ceiling if the owner injects the full £15m/season — only a minority of clubs will use this.

PSR headroom shows how much room clubs had under the old loss-based system (£39m over 3 years, higher for clubs with recent PL seasons). Positive = was inside the old rules; negative = breached. SCR headroom is squad cost vs the 85% limit only. Compare the two columns to see whether a club is better or worse off under SCR.

Most clubs with large PSR headroom had it because their PL history lifted the £39m limit — not because they were spending conservatively. Under SCR there is no history bonus: every club is judged on this season's revenue.

Parachute clubs (P) have large but temporary revenue boosts from Premier League parachute payments. Their headline headroom can look generous now, but drops sharply once payments end — usually after two or three seasons.

Status key

High spending power — within 85% Green Threshold Balanced — owner top-up covers the gap Restricted — over the effective limit Not enough data

How SCR differs from PSR

Under the old PSR rules, clubs were judged on total losses over three years. SCR instead caps squad spending as a live proportion of revenue — monitored during the season, not after the fact. The shift rewards clubs with growing income and penalises wage-heavy rosters regardless of player sales.

Full SCR vs PSR explainer →

Figures are illustrative estimates from published accounts and public reporting. SCR uses adjusted football revenue, which differs from headline turnover. Effective limit includes the £15m/season owner top-up cap. estimated figures are derived; reported figures are from named published sources. Last reviewed 2026-05-17. Full rules explainer →