Premier League to vote on anchoring cap tied to bottom club revenue

Premier League clubs will vote next month on a proposed financial rule known as anchoring that would cap how much each team can spend on its playing squad relative to the league’s lowest‑earning club, a move supporters say would curb inequality and critics warn could undermine the competition’s global standing.

Under the plan, clubs’ football squad costs — including player and head coach wages, transfer fee amortisation and agents fees — would be limited to five times the prize money and broadcast revenue received by the club finishing bottom of the table. Taken alongside proposed squad cost ratio rules that would cap spending at 85 percent of revenue, anchoring is designed to sit on top of the existing profitability and sustainability framework. A formal vote is scheduled at a shareholders’ meeting on November 21, with the proposal requiring the support of 14 of the 20 clubs to take effect.

League officials and club executives say the cap would be set using recent season revenue figures, which would translate to a ceiling in the region of £545 million to £550 million for 2023‑24 season data. The draft rules include sanctions for breaches that could begin with a points deduction...