EFL Salary Cost Management Protocol · Plain-English explainer
SCMP explained: how League One's wage cap actually works
The 50% / 65% figures and the flat 50p-per-£1 treatment of equity were approved by League One clubs in May 2026 and apply from 2026/27. The rulebook text quoted on this page is the published 2025/26 edition, which still carries the 60% / 75% percentages and a staggered equity scale; the EFL said the 2026/27 SCMP rules would be published in due course. Where the two differ we say so.
This page explains the mechanics. For the ranked table with the same clubs and a shorter summary, see the League One SCMP table.
What the SCMP requirement is
Rule 2.2 of the League One SCMP rules defines the test. The sum of a club's agents' fees plus player related expenditure, less the wages of non-established under-21 players, for the Player Cost Period (1 July to 30 June) must not exceed the aggregate of:
- 100% of the club's player trading income in the relevant transfer period (1 May to 30 April) — transfer and loan income received, net of transfer and loan fees paid;
- allowable equity injection income for the reporting period — see below; and
- relevant turnover multiplied by the relevant turnover percentage — 50% for 2026/27, 65% for a former Championship club in its first League One season only.
Together these are the club's allowable income. The 50% is therefore a percentage of turnover, not of total income: a club with £10m of turnover, £1m of net transfer profit and £1m of qualifying equity has £5m + £1m + £0.5m = £6.5m of headroom for player costs under the 2026/27 equity rule.
Under-21 players are disclosed but a "non-established" under-21 (fewer than 40 first-team appearances and paid below the Established Player Basic Wage, £3,400 a week for 2025/26) is deducted from the total. Once a player hits either trigger their cost counts in full.
Which costs count as player related expenditure
Appendix C of the rules lists everything due to a contract player, temporary contract player or under-21 player under their contract during the reporting period. It is a wide net:
- basic salary and any payment due under an image rights contract;
- signing-on fees due on registration;
- appearance, win, loyalty, promotion and other bonuses — play-off and promotion bonuses may be booked in either the current or the following period at the club's discretion, but must be in line with divisional averages;
- accommodation, holiday and relocation expenses, and benefits in kind such as private use of a car (at the P11D value);
- any loan to a player not repaid within the same reporting period;
- employer's National Insurance contributions and taxes accrued on the player;
- agents' fees payable by the club, and any settled by the club on the player's behalf (agents' fees appear in the SCMP requirement in their own right too — the rules say the two definitions exist so nothing is double-counted);
- pension contributions, insurance premiums (personal accident, health, life), and personal expenses incurred in meeting the contract;
- redundancy and compromise payments to players, allocated to the period in which they fall due.
Players out on loan are excluded for the period they are away, in proportion to whatever share of the wage the parent club still pays. A player declared permanently unfit for the rest of the season, with medical evidence, can be excluded from that date; short-term injuries cannot. Where a player also holds a second role such as player-coach, both salaries are amalgamated so the second role cannot be used to hide wages.
Manager and head coach costs. The 2025/26 rulebook text confines player related expenditure to players. The May 2026 EFL statement says that from 2026/27 "Manager costs [are] to now also be included within the SCMP Calculation." The published statement does not define "manager costs" more precisely than that, and the 2026/27 rule text was not yet published when this page was written.
Loan fees paid to other clubs are not wages. They sit on the player trading side of the calculation, where any loan fees paid or received are netted within player trading income.
What "relevant turnover" includes
Appendix A sets out relevant turnover, presented under UK GAAP, net of VAT, and in line with the club's accounting period. The main lines are:
- EFL distributions — basic awards, TV facility fees, and any parachute income receivable from the League, unless it has been forward-financed;
- Premier League solidarity and parachute payments — only those received in cash for the period, again excluding forward-financed receivables. A club that borrowed against a future parachute instalment cannot count that money twice;
- EFL Cup and EFL Trophy prize money and facility fees on an actual basis — the pre-season budget must assume the club goes out in Round 1 and is updated as the run progresses;
- matchday revenue — league gate receipts before matchday costs, cup gate receipts net of costs (again assuming no progress past Round 1 pre-season), friendlies net of direct costs;
- commercial and sponsorship income, with associated-party sponsorship counted only on a cash-received basis for the rights delivered in that period;
- non-matchday stadium and asset revenue — concerts, conferences, pitch hire, stadium hotels, car parking — on a net-profit basis, assessed case by case;
- season tickets pro-rated where they cover more than one season; bad debts netted off.
From 2025/26 R&D tax credits cannot be included. The League can re-categorise any item it thinks is in the wrong place, and refers to the Club Financial Review Panel any arrangement it believes artificially flatters a submission.
Owner equity, donations and "football fortune"
Older descriptions of the SCMP talk about "football fortune income" — cup runs, transfer profits, donations and equity. The current rules do not use that phrase. Cup prize money sits inside relevant turnover, transfer profit is counted at 100% as player trading income, and owner money is allowable equity injection income under Appendix B.
To qualify, equity, cash injections and donations must be non-redeemable and non-returnable, evidenced by a bank statement showing the cash has landed, and for equity, by the Companies House forms confirming new share capital. Converting old debt to equity does not count, because no new cash arrives to pay wages; loans of any kind never count. Donations above £10,000 from one person need a signed letter confirming no interest and no repayment. Repaying an injection that has been counted is misconduct.
How much of it counts. The 2025/26 rulebook applies a sliding scale: 100% of the first £500,000, 75% of the next £250,000, 60% of the next £250,000, and 60% of anything above £1m. In May 2026 League One clubs voted to remove that staggered approach, so that from 2026/27 all equity injections count at 50% — 50p of permitted wage spend for every £1 invested. This is the rule change Oxford United cited when their embargo was confirmed.
When clubs submit, and how it is policed
Two returns a season, both electronic, in the League's template:
- Pre-Season SCMP Submission — by 16 June (or the next working day), covering the coming season with comparatives for the two prior reporting periods. Every club that will be in League One must file one, including clubs just relegated or promoted into the division.
- Mid-Season SCMP Submission — by 1 December, updating the forecast for every change in assumptions since June, with material variances explained.
Between those dates the club must keep its submission up to date and report variances. The League reviews each submission, strips out anything not evidenced, monitors in real time through the season, and afterwards compares the submissions with the club's annual accounts to check they were prepared accurately. The rules do not fix a date for that post-season reconciliation. Every new registration also needs a signed self-certification that it will not tip the club over the SCMP requirement.
A club that is at, or expects to reach, 95% of its permitted player related expenditure must notify the League in writing at once — the "additional reporting threshold" — as must any club that expects to fail the requirement outright.
What happens on a breach
The sanction is a player registration embargo. Under Rule 9 a club that misses a filing date, fails to provide information, or is forecast to fail the SCMP requirement can have any application to register a player, or to give an existing player a new contract, refused. The embargo runs until the League is satisfied the club is compliant again, or until the end of the season, whichever is earlier, and can be published on the EFL's Embargo Reporting Service two working days later. Under Rule 11 a club whose pre-season submission already shows a breach is embargoed with immediate effect and stays there until it can demonstrate compliance; a club still forecasting a breach after the summer window closes can have further conditions imposed by the League to force compliance by the end of the season.
Live example: Oxford United. On 9 July 2026 Oxford confirmed an EFL transfer embargo (no new registrations) for failing to provide proof of funding under the SCMP, blaming relegation combined with the EFL rule change that removed the staggered approach to equity injections. The club said shareholders had committed to increased investment and that costs were being cut, and expected to be compliant before the January 2027 window. No figure for the shortfall has been published and, as of early September 2026, no report of the embargo being lifted had appeared. Their computed ratio in the table below looks comfortable only because it is measured against Championship-era turnover — which is exactly why the League runs the test on forecasts, not on last year's accounts.
Why League One is not on SCR
The Squad Cost Ratio applies to the Championship from 2026/27. In the same May 2026 vote League One clubs chose to tighten the SCMP they already had rather than switch to SCR. The two rules measure different things:
| Championship — SCR (from 2026/27) | League One — SCMP (2026/27) |
|---|---|
| Squad costs ≤ 85% of adjusted football revenue | Player wages + agents' fees ≤ 50% of turnover (plus trading income and equity) |
| Covers wages + amortisation + agent fees | Wages and agents' fees only (manager included from 2026/27); no amortisation |
| Owner top-up: £34.3m over 3 seasons | Equity injection at 50p per £1 invested |
| Assessed on accounts after the season | Assessed on forecasts in June and December, adjusted in real time |
| Breach → sporting sanction / embargo | Breach → registration embargo until compliant |
See the Championship SCR table → Full SCR explainer →
Every League One club against its SCMP threshold
All 24 League One clubs ranked by estimated SCMP ratio (lowest first). Clubs marked R are in their first season after relegation from the Championship and get the 65% threshold.
| Club | Revenue | Wage bill | SCMP ratio | Threshold | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester City vs Sheff Wed P R | £186.5m reported | £36.4m estimated | 20% | 65% | Within — watch |
| AFC Wimbledon vs MK Dons | £10.2m reported | £3.2m estimated | 31% | 50% | Well within limit |
| Sheffield Wednesday vs Leicester vs Oxford R | £26.3m reported | £8.5m estimated | 32% | 65% | Within limit |
| Cambridge United vs Peterborough | £9.2m reported | £3m estimated | 33% | 50% | Well within limit |
| Peterborough United vs Cambridge | £15.9m reported | £5.9m estimated | 37% | 50% | Well within limit |
| Barnsley | £10.3m reported | £4m estimated | 39% | 50% | Within — watch |
| Oxford United vs Sheff Wed R | £19m reported | £9m estimated | 47% | 65% | Equity-funded |
| Luton Town | £20m estimated | £9.6m estimated | 48% | 50% | Within — watch |
| Doncaster Rovers | £6.6m estimated | £3.5m estimated | 53% | 50% | Marginal |
| Bradford City vs Huddersfield | £8.7m reported | £4.7m estimated | 54% | 50% | Within — watch |
| Bromley | £5.3m reported | £2.9m estimated | 55% | 50% | Within — watch |
| Leyton Orient | £9.4m reported | £5.5m estimated | 58% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Stockport County vs Wigan | £11.5m reported | £7m estimated | 61% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Huddersfield Town vs Bradford | £10.6m reported | £7.7m estimated | 73% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Reading vs Wycombe | £9.8m reported | £7.6m estimated | 77% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Wigan Athletic vs Stockport | £7.3m reported | £6m estimated | 83% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Burton Albion | £6.4m reported | £5.6m estimated | 87% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Blackpool | £8.8m reported | £8.1m estimated | 92% | 50% | Breach risk |
| Wycombe Wanderers vs Reading | £7.1m reported | £7.9m estimated | 112% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Milton Keynes Dons vs AFC Wimbledon | £5.6m reported | £7.8m estimated | 141% | 50% | Equity-funded |
| Plymouth Argyle | £28.8m reported | £6.8m estimated | — | 50% | No data |
| Mansfield Town | - estimated | £6.1m estimated | — | 50% | No data |
| Stevenage | - estimated | £5.6m estimated | — | 50% | No data |
| Notts County | - estimated | £5.2m estimated | — | 50% | No data |
Status key
A dash in the revenue column is a real answer, not a gap: Stevenage, Notts County and Mansfield file abridged accounts with no turnover line, so their SCMP ratio cannot be estimated from public data at all.