Amortisation
Amortisation is the annual accounting cost of a transfer fee, spread evenly across the length of the player's contract.
Also called
transfer amortisation
player amortisation
amortization
When a club buys a player, the fee is not charged to the profit and loss account in one go. It is spread across the contract: a £30m signing on a five-year deal costs £6m a year in amortisation.
Amortisation is one of the three components of squad cost under SCR, alongside wages and agents' fees. It is why a club can have a modest wage bill and still run a high ratio — a heavy recent transfer spend keeps charging for years after the window closes.
It also explains why headroom is not the same as a transfer budget. Headroom of £10m in a season buys considerably more than a £10m fee, because only one year of the fee lands in that season.
Related terms
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Definitions summarise published EFL and Premier League regulations in plain English; they are
not legal advice and not a substitute for the rulebooks themselves.
Last reviewed 2026-09-10.
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