EFL Salary Cost Management Protocol · League One
League One SCMP: how much can every club spend on wages?
Penalty for breach: the EFL applies a transfer embargo until the club returns to compliance. Repeat or severe failures can trigger points deductions. Compliance is checked at the mid-season and end-of-season submission dates — see the SCR and SCMP calendar. Owner equity injections now count at 50p per £1 invested — an important lever for investor-backed clubs.
The table below ranks all 24 League One clubs by SCMP ratio (lowest first). A ratio below the applicable threshold means the club is compliant.
| Club | Revenue | Wage bill | SCMP ratio threshold | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester City vs Sheff Wed P R | £186.5m reported | £36.4m estimated | 20% limit 65% | Within — watch |
| AFC Wimbledon vs MK Dons | £10.2m reported | £3.2m estimated | 31% limit 50% | Well within limit |
| Sheffield Wednesday vs Leicester vs Oxford R | £26.3m reported | £8.5m estimated | 32% limit 65% | Within limit |
| Cambridge United vs Peterborough | £9.2m reported | £3m estimated | 33% limit 50% | Well within limit |
| Peterborough United vs Cambridge | £15.9m reported | £5.9m estimated | 37% limit 50% | Well within limit |
| Barnsley | £10.3m reported | £4m estimated | 39% limit 50% | Within — watch |
| Oxford United vs Sheff Wed R | £19m reported | £9m estimated | 47% limit 65% | Equity-funded |
| Luton Town | £20m estimated | £9.6m estimated | 48% limit 50% | Within — watch |
| Doncaster Rovers | £6.6m estimated | £3.5m estimated | 53% limit 50% | Marginal |
| Bradford City vs Huddersfield | £8.7m reported | £4.7m estimated | 54% limit 50% | Within — watch |
| Bromley | £5.3m reported | £2.9m estimated | 55% limit 50% | Within — watch |
| Leyton Orient | £9.4m reported | £5.5m estimated | 58% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Stockport County vs Wigan | £11.5m reported | £7m estimated | 61% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Huddersfield Town vs Bradford | £10.6m reported | £7.7m estimated | 73% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Reading vs Wycombe | £9.8m reported | £7.6m estimated | 77% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Wigan Athletic vs Stockport | £7.3m reported | £6m estimated | 83% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Burton Albion | £6.4m reported | £5.6m estimated | 87% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Blackpool | £8.8m reported | £8.1m estimated | 92% limit 50% | Breach risk |
| Wycombe Wanderers vs Reading | £7.1m reported | £7.9m estimated | 112% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Milton Keynes Dons vs AFC Wimbledon | £5.6m reported | £7.8m estimated | 141% limit 50% | Equity-funded |
| Plymouth Argyle | £28.8m reported | £6.8m estimated | — limit 50% | No data |
| Mansfield Town | - estimated | £6.1m estimated | — limit 50% | No data |
| Stevenage | - estimated | £5.6m estimated | — limit 50% | No data |
| Notts County | - estimated | £5.2m estimated | — limit 50% | No data |
How to read this table
SCMP ratio is the club's estimated annual wage bill divided by turnover. It must stay below the threshold for that club. The standard threshold from 2026/27 is 50%. Clubs relegated from the Championship in 2025/26 — Oxford, Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday (marked R) get a first-year threshold of 65%.
Clubs funded by significant owner equity injections (shown as Equity-funded) may technically be over the turnover ratio but can remain compliant because the SCMP allows each £1 of equity to add 50p of permitted wage spend.
Parachute clubs (P) — Leicester City still receive Premier League parachute payments in 2026/27 (their second parachute year), which inflate the turnover SCMP is measured against and make a £36m wage bill look compliant. Luton's parachute ended after 2025/26, which is why their stored ratio should be read as historical. The advantage disappears once payments end.
Status key
Why does League One use SCMP instead of SCR?
SCR (Squad Cost Ratio) applies to the Championship from 2026/27, and the Premier League runs its own 85% / 115% version. League One clubs voted in December 2024 to tighten their existing SCMP rather than adopt SCR. The key difference:
The 50% cap is under legal challenge. In August 2026 the PFA started proceedings against the cut from 60% to 50%, arguing that the clubs' vote skipped the consultation the rules require through the Professional Football Negotiating and Consultative Committee. In 2021 the PFA won an arbitration against an earlier EFL salary cap. The 50% cap was still applied while the challenge was pending: Oxford United were given a temporary registration embargo in August 2026.
See the Championship SCR table → Full SCR explainer →