Times: All promoted teams have been demoted for two consecutive years, and the Premier League considers revising PSR rules

 6:13pm, 21 September 2025
According to the Times, for two consecutive seasons, all teams upgraded from the Championship were immediately relegated from the Premier League, which triggered discussions on the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). The pressing issue of immediate relegation for Premier League promoted teams is expected to be the focus of the first club meeting next week, when future fiscal rules will be discussed. Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester City, who have been upgraded from the Championship in the 2023-24 season, were all relegated last season, and this is the second consecutive year. There is growing view that the Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) have failed to help upgrade clubs and the gap is widening.

The newly upgraded Sunderland and Leeds United have a PSR loss cap of £61 million in the 2025-26 season (due to their EFL competition in the previous two years), while the losses cap of clubs that have been staying in the top flight for a long time is £105 million.

If the mainstream opinion is to retain PSR next season (there is no vote for this before the New Year), one of the current proposals is that the upgrade bonus should be excluded from PSR calculations. This type of bonus may be very huge: Leeds United's latest annual report disclosed that it paid £19.2 million in player bonus after winning the Championship.

Although some clubs believe that the promoted team is more competitive and healthier for the league, those clubs with a potentially increased risk of relegation may not be willing to modify the rules.

Future discussions on fiscal rules are also expected to involve the proposed "line-up cost rule" - which limits club spending on player salaries, transfers and broker fees to 85% of operating income. UEFA has adopted similar rules, but the proportion is set to 70%.

Premier League clubs hope to know any penalties that violate the cap, such as the fines ratings for different overpriced amounts, and when sports sanctions will be triggered before making up for next season.