The names just kept coming, one after the other: Alexia Putellas, a two-time Ballon dOr winner; Mary Earps, named the best womens goalkeeper by FIFA in 2022 and 2023; Mapi Leon, a four-time Champions League winner; and Kadidiatou Diani, who has earned more than 100 caps for France.But how are the London City Lionesses, owned by American businesswoman Michele Kang, complying with the Womens Super Leagues financial rules to pay these big-name players?What is London Citys strategy?Invest before revenue.Kang, a Korean-American businesswoman, bought the club in 2023, helping them win promotion to the WSL in 2025. Finishing sixth in their debut top-flight season was respectable, but this summer, they have gone big. London City have splashed out on star players albeit mostly on free transfers for two reasons: they want to qualify for the Champions League and increase their revenue as soon as possible.Earnings have to rise so they can afford to pay this set of players. London City are banking on marquee names attracting larger sponsorship deals and a new fanbase that will increase revenue down the line. On Thursday they announced a first-of-its-kind multi-year front-of-shirt partnership with Nike. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Kang, however, said the value exceeds some Premier League mens teams shirt deals and the $4million (2.9 m) annual value of the NWSLs Atlanta expansion franchises recent front-of-shirt agreement, believed to be the wealthiest jersey sponsorship in womens sports.Invest before revenue is a common strategy in womens football and reflects its start-up nature. In a league where attendances have stalled, London City have taken it upon themselves, for better or worse, to inject some dynamism into the WSL.That piece of the puzzle (revenue) is missing, Christina Philippou, associate professor in sport finance at the University of Portsmouth, tells The Athletic. But Kang is too smart for this to be: Lets go wild and spend for fun. As Kang has proven in the past, if she wants to make something happen, she will.The WSL introduced financial rules a year ago but crucially, any breach of the salary cost could not be enforced until this upcoming season.What are the rules?The WSLs permitted squad salary requirement (PSS) limits clubs to spending a proportion of revenue on players, but allows for increased spending when owners provide equity funding.PSS limits spending on player salaries to 80 per cent of a clubs annual revenues, plus an allowance for relevant cash funding, capped at 25 per cent of those annual revenues or 4million ($5.4m), whichever is higher.That allows for some owner investment to push the team forward but not go completely wild, says Philippou.Relevant cash funding from owners doesnt have to be equity, with soft loans interest-free borrowings that are at the back of the queue when it comes to the teams liabilities also included. For most clubs, such funding will max out at 4m. At last check (accounts for the 2024-25 financial year), only Chelsea and Arsenal recorded revenues beyond 16m, suggesting only they could inject more than 4m.Determining a WSL teams relevant revenues will require more nuance than has previously been evident. PSS dictates clubs cant count money sent from fellow group undertakings (ie, mens teams) as revenue, and any revenue from sponsorship deals spanning both forms must be reasonably allocated. That will require a clear definition of splits to be distributed between the mens and womens teams going forward.Whatever the topline figure ends up being, clubs will only be able to spend 80 per cent of it on their total salary cost a slightly misleading tagline, as it only refers to players wages. The WSL has laid out a list of what comprises these player salary costs, including player agent payments and image rights.Notable exceptions include pension contributions, payments towards player education, parental leave or childcare, helping ensure that clubs dont cut back under the guise of compliance with the rules.How much have London City spent and what are the risks?Well, we wont know until the financial accounts are released in approximately 18 months. But according to multiple sources speaking anonymously to protect relationships, like some others in this piece there is no player at London City earning a baseline salary of more than 1million.London City have been criticised for inflating wages at the top end of the market, but one source points to Khadija Bunny Shaws salary Manchester Citys star striker signed a new four-year contract in June that, as The Athletic reported, is worth an annual 1.6m, excluding performance-related bonuses. There is an argument, however, that London Citys activity has driven wages at the middle-to-lower levels of the table, where clubs are fighting to build their fanbases and compete.Over the coming years, London City plan to shift their sights to younger, more affordable players, keep wages down, and hope the allure of their squad, facilities, and the prospect of competing in Europe will attract the next generation of talent. They do not want to become the go-to team for out-of-contract 32-year-olds.During their promotion 2024-25 season from the Championship (now WSL 2), their total expenditure (11.5m) was the fourth-highest in English womens football, only behind Arsenal (21.6m), Chelsea (20.2m) and Manchester City (14.0m). Their revenue was only 902,000, in contrast to Chelsea (21.3m), Arsenal (21.5m), Manchester United (10.7m) and City (10.6m). Generating revenue is vital now that London City have higher-earning players on their books.The independent club has, according to a source with knowledge of the matter, developed a five-year business plan to make the project sustainable and profitable. Any club can spend now but their revenue generated at the end of the season, when they have to declare their figures, is an estimate. London Citys fanbase, according to the source, has already significantly increased and sponsors are offering more because of the names attached to the club. The WSL also negotiated an improved five-year TV deal, starting from the 2025-26 season, which will increase revenue.The risk is overestimating the impact of such transfers, especially in the case of their biggest star, Putellas. What if sponsorship deals do not come off? What if she gets injured or wants to move? What if the new fans at their ground in Bromley, south London, with a capacity of just 5,160, are not engaged as the club predicted? There are a lot of what-ifs, but London City are hedging their bets.What are the punishments if a club breaches the PSS?Lets be clear: there is no sense that London City have done anything wrong yet.Perhaps learning from the past ambiguity of sanctions in the Premier League, the WSL has been prescriptive when detailing what might befall London City, or anyone, if they breach PSS.The regulations section breaches are split into four types: minor procedural, major procedural, salary floor threshold and salary cost threshold.The former two range in seriousness from late filings to attempts to circumvent the rules in bad faith by, for example, falsifying exclusions to redirect funds to a player and therefore reduce their salary cap value. Minor procedural breaches carry low penalties but major ones can lead to point deductions.A salary floor threshold breach occurs when clubs are found to have paid players less than the bare minimum required by WSL rules. Those salary floors are flexed by age and tier: in the top flight, minimum salaries range from 26,900 for players aged 18-20 to 42,500 for over-23s; in WSL2, the range is 17,500 to 26,900. A breach here sees clubs allowed time to rectify the issue. If they dont, point deductions are possible.Salary cost threshold breaches which, from the outside, look like London Citys most obvious concern are split into their own minor and major categories.A minor breach is when a club exceeds its threshold by up to 20 per cent and incurs a fine. They taper upwards in line with the size of the breach and can total up to 40 per cent of the clubs excess spending. For example, if the maximum amount a club can spend, according to revenue generated, is 10m but they spend 20 per cent more (12m) they will be fined 40 per cent of the 2m excess (which is 800,000).Anything beyond a 20 per cent excess comprises a major breach and would incur a more severe fine (50 per cent of the excess) and a points deduction. If a top-flight club exceeds its salary cap by 20 per cent but by less than 100,000, they will be docked one point. Anything that is both 20 per cent and 900,000 over a clubs threshold will see them docked at least 10 points. So if a clubs threshold is 10m, they exceed it by 30 per cent, rising to 13m, they will be fined 1.5m and docked at least 10 points.If clubs have not met their revenue target at the end of the season, some may embark on creative ways, such as club tours, to close the revenue gap.Some teams in mens football could calculate that taking the financial hit and points deduction would leave them better off if they qualify for European competitions the source, who has been briefed on the situation, stresses that is not London Citys intention.But it is still a possibility for any club.Is this good or bad for the WSL?On the one hand, bringing high-profile players into the WSL attracts more eyeballs, driving the leagues growth. On the other hand, you can understand why some teams, especially mid-table clubs, may be irked. Aggressive spending widens the competitive gap between teams and creates pressure for others to invest in order to compete, potentially beyond a clubs means. The financial regulations are in place to prevent clubs from doing that.The better your accountants and lawyers, the more wiggle room you can get, says Philippou. New regulations have lots of loopholes in them and clubs test the limits. As the league progresses, the rules get stronger and more loopholes are closed.What is beneficial for the womens game is, when the financial accounts are published, a more transparent understanding of wage to revenue ratio. For now, London City are prepared to speculate to accumulate.This article originally appeared in The Athletic.London City Lionesses LFC, Premier League, Sports Business, Women's Soccer, Women's Super League2026 The Athletic Media Company