League One SCMP
How much can Oxford United spend?
Under the EFL's Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) rules, Oxford United have a
guaranteed spending limit of £9.5m
— 50% of estimated football revenue of £19m.
Against their estimated squad cost that leaves £520k of headroom.
Oxford United: the SCR breakdown
- Estimated revenue (football) reported £19m
- 50% SCR limit £9.5m
- Estimated squad cost estimated £9m
- Headroom vs 50% limit +£520k
High spending power
- squad cost is 47.3% of revenue
What this means
On these estimates, Oxford United sit comfortably inside the 85% Green Threshold. They have room to invest in the squad without straining the rules.
League One clubs are governed by SCMP, a wage-to-turnover cap, not SCR. The figures above run the club through the same calculator at the 50% SCMP threshold for comparability; the League One page shows the club's SCMP ratio and threshold directly.
Note on this club's figures. Revenue is the club's own published headline turnover of £19.0m for the year to 30 June 2025 (first Championship season; full accounts filed at Companies House 20 March 2026, company 00470509), stored as the rounded 19,000,000 — the club release quotes it to one decimal place only. Up from £8.4m in 2023/24, driven by EFL/PL central distributions rising from £2.5m to £11.5m; net loss £17.48m (operating loss £17.461m), amortisation £2.361m, and the accounts state the club 'remains dependent on shareholder support'. 2025/26 (second Championship season) accounts are not yet filed. Wage bill is Salary Sport's 2026/27 League One estimate of £8,980,400 (£172,700/week, 52 listed players, top earner Brannagan £16k/week); weekly = annual/52. Capology returned 403 so could not be cross-checked; Salary Sport's 2025/26 Championship figure was £14,008,800, so the 2026/27 estimate implies a ~36% cut post-relegation. Ratio = 8,980,400 / 19,000,000 = 0.47, which is well under the 65% threshold ON PAPER, but this is misleading: the denominator is Championship-era turnover and League One turnover will fall sharply as the £11.5m of central distributions drops away (the72 puts the relegation hit at £7–10m), and wage estimates from salary sites are for players only and exclude the wider player-related costs SCMP counts. Crucially, the club is NOT currently SCMP compliant: on 9 July 2026 Oxford confirmed an EFL transfer embargo (no new registrations) for failing to provide proof of funding under SCMP, blaming relegation plus an EFL rule change that removed the staggered approach to equity injections. The club says shareholders have committed to increased investment and costs are being cut, expecting compliance before the January 2027 window; no figures for the shortfall were published, and no report of the embargo being lifted was found as of 2 Sept 2026. Status is therefore set to breach_risk_mitigated_by_equity despite the low computed ratio. Swiss Ramble's 2024/25 Oxford analysis (28 July 2026) is paywalled; its free preview confirms the embargo and the 75%→65% threshold change but gives no wage figure. Not a parachute club (never in the Premier League).
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Compare Oxford with another club
Plymouth Argyle
Sheffield Wednesday
Luton Town
Peterborough United
Stockport County
Huddersfield Town
← All League One SCMP clubs ranked by SCR headroom
Figures are illustrative estimates from published accounts, named analyst estimates and
public reporting, not official SCR submissions.
SCR uses adjusted football revenue, which differs from headline turnover. Last reviewed 2026-09-03.
Full rules explainer →