Many studies indicate a strong correlation between payroll and sports results. Our contribution intends to review the relationships between the two indicators while aiming to evaluate the weight of (in)efficiency in development of performance in sport, relative to that of payroll. In other words, we are aiming to determine at what proportion we can shift the stakes of this relationship i.e. from a problem which is centred on the ability to mobilise the maximum amount of resources in the strengthening of the workforce, to a different kind of problem – one focused on development of skills with the goal of optimising investment. It is about rendering the (in)capacity of clubs toward maximisation of their investments in their players in order to achieving sports results. Special attention is paid to regularity, for the purpose of checking whether one representative group of clubs regularly manages to maximise its player investment while another group is underperforming in view of sums invested. The underlying issue is the identification of managerial specificities and skills which enable the maintenance of high levels of efficiency and thereby generate competitive advantages.