Wrexham Boosted by Controversial Change to Championship Rules

There will be new financial rules in place next season as the Championship adopts the same regulations as the Premier League.

Wrexham’s quest for Premier League promotion has been given a new boost for next season. | Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Getty Images

Wrexham are set to become one of the biggest winners after EFL Championship clubs voted in favor of implementing new financial rules for next season.

Twenty of the 24 Championship clubs voted in favor of introducing Squad Cost Ratio (SCR) rules, which will replace the current Profit and Sustainability (PSR) rules.

The rule change will see the English second division adopt the same financial rules as the Premier League, which is good news for clubs with high revenues.

Under the current PSR rules, a Championship club is allowed to lose $56.14 million over a rolling three-year period without being sanctioned. The new proposals will instead cap spending on player costs at 85% of an individual club’s soccer revenue and also permit an annual equity injection of about $13.5 million to count toward a club’s revenue and increase spending capacity.

While some might view the rule change as a sustainable measure for club ownership, given that a club cannot spend more than it earns, there is concern that teams with high revenues—particularly those receiving parachute payments following relegation from the Premier League—will have an unfair advantage over most other clubs in the league.

However, the fact that only four clubs voted against the financial rule change confirms that it is a popular decision among the second tier.

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How New Championship Financial Rules Will Impact Wrexham

Ryan Reynolds (left) and Rob Mac have propelled Wrexham to new heights. | Robbie Jay Barratt/AMA/Getty Images

Wrexham Latest Financial Results

Key Financial Figures	2024–25 (finished 2nd in League One)
Revenue	$45.05 million
Sponsorship Income	$23.46 million
Retail Income	$6.84 million
Matchday Income	$8.06 million
Broadcast Income	$4.60 million
Wage Costs	$26.99 million
Losses	$20.09 million

Wrexham were already comfortably under the PSR limit but will have even more freedom to invest in the playing squad under the new SCR rules.

Based on the club’s latest financial results, the Red Dragons’ spending totaled $23.74 million—which was recorded while they were a League One club. That would allow a further $32.47 million this season under the old PSR rules.

However, under the SCR rules, Wrexham would be able to spend 85% of its revenue on player costs—wages, transfer fees and agent costs. That figure was $45.05 million for the 2024–25 season, giving the club $38.25 million to spend on player costs. That is a significant increase of an extra $6 million.

The benefit of SCR rules grows as revenue increases. Club sources suggest turnover for Wrexham’s first season back in the Championship will land somewhere around $65 million, a figure that will be confirmed when results are released next year. If that proves accurate, the club would have $55.25 million to invest under the new financial rules.

For comparison, the average revenue of a Championship club, based on the latest estimates, is $54 million. That would give the average club just under $46 million to invest. However, those averages are skewed by clubs that have received parachute payments following relegation from the Premier League. The average revenue of a non-parachute-payment club is about $30 million, meaning those teams would be able to invest $25.5 million under SCR rules. That is effectively $30 million less than Wrexham anticipate being able to spend.

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