Premier League to delay PSR reform by another year

18/02/2025 07:59

New systems now set to be introduced only in 2026-27

The current Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) in the Premier League, which were first introduced in 2015, have proven not fit for purpose over the past decade. Some breaches of its three-year reporting cycle (maximum losses of £105m) have gone unpunished, other breaches have gotten excessively punished, and, more recently, teams have started engaging in Pure Profit™ player trading machinations that run contrary to the spirit and ideal of homegrown football, but keep balance sheets on the positive side of the ledger.

Reforms have been proposed, including the idea of a generous salary cap ("anchoring") — five times the bottom club's share of the annual TV money — and the switch to squad-cost ratio (SCR) calculations, which would limit a club's spending to 85 per cent of their total revenue. (The latter part is similar to UEFA's FFP system.) These may not solve all of the Premier League's financial excesses, but they might help alleviate some of its biggest issues.

Alas, we won't know for at least another year longer how much it might help, with the Premier League voting at their AGM last week to delay the introduction of the new rules, and keep PSR in place for another year. Last June, the Premier League voted to run the new rules as a "shadow" system alongside PSR this season, but now that's also going to be case next season as well.

It's unclear exactly why the league voted to delay things, but according to The Times, part of the reason is wanting to wait until Manchester City's 115 PSR breaches case gets resolved, and another reason is potential legal action from the PFA about SCR and anchoring (the players' union would want no salary cap at all, obviously). Additionally, "the Premier League has also been asked to look at the issue of sustainability and whether some element of maximum losses should be retained". There's been some concern that introducing these rules would negatively impact the league's ability to attract the best talent to keep it The Best League In The World™, or some such.

In related news, the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction (APT) rules have been declared "null and void", so it's open season on self-sponsorship now.