Doncaster Rovers chief executive on wage cap talks in League One

The coronavirus crisis has forced clubs within the EFL to begin exploring options for helping clubs survive the financial pressures to come, with no clarity over when supporters will be allowed back into stadiums.

One such option that has been discussed is the introduction of a wage cap in Leagues One and Two, with much of the talk centring on a uniform cap of around £2.5m imposed on all third tier clubs.

Rovers chief executive Baldwin confirmed however that other possible forms of wage cap have been talked through.

“I think there will be some form of control [for next season],” he told the Free Press. “Whether it will be a definite figure, with a cap of between £2m and £3m, or whether it will be a percentage of revenue is the big debate at the moment.

“You’ve got the bigger clubs who are obviously arguing against the solid wage cap because they’re saying it should be based on the revenue generated, which would give the greater flexibility.

“There is another theory at the moment that there should be an individual player wage cap, so no player can earn more than a certain amount of money.”

Baldwin admitted that he would favour the restriction based on a percentage of club revenue, as it allows clubs to pursue alternative income streams which will benefit their football team.

With a drive for sustainability and self-sufficiency at Rovers in recent years, plenty of work has taken place in order to generate revenue such as the leasing of car parking and office spaces and the development of the football centre on the Keepmoat site.

“This is my opinion, I understand the argument for capping salaries on a percentage of revenue,” he said.

“That allows you to be ambitious off the field and on the field and therefore have the best possible team.

“A league cap across all teams almost reduces the incentive to work hard off the pitch.

“That is only my personal opinion at the moment, we’ve not gone into depth with it as a club.

“I understand a cap but I would prefer it be based on revenue.

“I want us to get the best possible wage budget by working as hard as we possibly can on the field and off the field through other activities.

“That is where Club Doncaster comes in. Club Doncaster the business model has helped massively over the last three months without football because we’ve got income coming in that other clubs just don’t have.”

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