The American View On Financial Fair Play

Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations restrict the total spending by football clubs on salaries and other expenses. The policy resembles the restraints on players' compensation imposed by American sports leagues. FFP is expected to reduce the number of player transfers, and the bidding for their services, lowering the players' share of the revenues. These outcomes are similar to salary cap results in American sports. Moreover, experience from American college sports suggests that that effective policing and enforcement of FFP regulations will be more costly than desired, thus FPP compliance will be investigated and enforced neither equitably nor efficiently. Last, there is nothing to suggest that FFP will benefit football fans, who would prefer better matches and lower prices.