Peterborough United chairman believes financial proposals at planned EFL meeting don't go far enough to help the 'craziest business in the world.'

There is a big EFL vote scheduled for tomorrow (Friday) when clubs will decide how much permitted spending under the salary cap management protocol (SCMP) will be allowed from next season.

League One clubs are voting on whether or not to have greater alignment with League Two by reducing permitted SCMP spending to 50% of turnover from 60%.

MacAnthony has been a driving force in a League One owners group who wanted to bring that figure down to 40%, but they had to agree to a compromise figure to meet the deadline for proposals. MacAnthony also revealed he was considering a request from his fellow owners to get on the EFL board as a League One representative. There is a vacancy following Lincoln City’s promotion.

MacAnthony’s group are determined to bring down club losses. The investment from League One owners last season came to a total of £230 million (an average of £9.6 million each) according to the Guardian newspaper. Posh were one of the few clubs in the EFL to register a profit for the year ending June 2025 with a £2.9 million surplus mainly down to player sales.

MacAnthony, speaking on a recent edition of his ‘Hard Truth’ podcast, said drastic changes were needed to stop football ‘eating itself from the inside out.’ He believes controlling costs would ultimately make clubs more valuable and lead to greater interest from potential buyers.

The Posh chairman is also concerned about the influence over all EFL matters of Championship clubs willing to accept huge losses in their bid to reach the Holy Grail of the Premier League. Championship clubs will vote tomorrow on a proposal to align with the Premier League from next season by replacing their profitability and sustainability (P&S) rules with a squad cost ratio system that would cap spending on player costs at 85% of football revenue.

MacAnthony said: “There is a bigger appetite than ever before among League One and Two owners to fix things an get our houses in order to improve our chances of a better deal from the Premier League. Championship clubs should want that as well, but I’m not sure they do as they are willing to overspend to get to the Premier League.

"Our League One ownership group spoke to League Two clubs and we wanted to bring the SCMP down to 40% which would stop the the after effects of having a Birmingham City and Wrexham in the divisions. Fair play to those clubs for what they were able to achieve, but the after effect for other clubs has been wage bills and other costs rising.

"We need to get the spending under control by adopting NFL rules. Unfortunately Championship clubs have a big say in what we can do. I have been asked by several chairman to get on the EFL board now there is a League One vacancy and I’m considering it. The EFL need help.

“I’ve had calls from owners who have lost their heads by paying £9-12k for veteran journeymen defenders. That’s at clubs with smaller gates than mine. We need to rein ourselves in. We have been like drunks at the bar and the proposed new rules would stop bad decisions like that.

"It’s been difficult to get our proposals heard so we have compromised to get a couple of things in. We need to do something as the whole industry is eating itself from the inside out. There was something like £150 million in total losses for League One clubs last season.

"That’s unsustainable. The finances in football are ludicrous. It’s the craziest business in the world. In time our proposals would make clubs more valuable. I value my club highly anyway, but it could increase by as much as 50%.”

MacAnthony is committed to reducing Posh debt from £12 million to £3 million with the help of recently appointed board members from the United States.

The NFL – the professional American football competition in the United States – operates with a hard salary cap which cannot be breached for any reason. It’s designed to increase fair competition.