These lists have been researched from media reports and the minutes from club board meetings included in the 2002 book to celebrate the 125th anniversary of St Mirren FC being formed, ‘Marching On’.

The first list below, is the traditional way transfer fees are perceived and simply the physical fee payed at the time for the player, however as John McGinn now tops this list as it has been reported Saints sell on fee for the player was £900,000 (plus £100,00 paid at the time) this may change once it is confirmed what the actual final settlement was.

It should also be noted that the £1,000 paid by Worcester City for George Stewart in 1954 was extremely controversial at the time as this was decided by a tribunal who had to cap the fee due to rules about non league transfers in England, (the cap was on fees paid but not received) something Saints heavily disputed at the time. Stewart was then quickly transferred to English league side Accrington Stanley for considerably more than the capped amount and went on to become a record scorer at the English club.

Player	Club	Year	Fee
John McGinn	Hibernian	2015	£1,000,000
Ian Ferguson	Rangers	1988	£900,000
Stevie Clarke	Chelsea	1987	£422,000
Frank McAvennie	West Ham	1985	£350,000
Ricky Gillies	Aberdeen	1997	£350,000
Ethan Erhahon	Lincoln City	2023	£350,000
Frank McGarvey	Liverpool	1979	£300,000
David McNamee	Blackburn Rovers	1999	£300,000
Burton O’Brien	Blackburn Rovers	1999	£300,000
Brian Hamilton	Hibernian	1989	£285,000
Lewis Morgan	Celtic	2018	£275,000
David Winnie	Aberdeen	1990	£265,000
Tony Fitzpatrick	Bristol City	1979	£250,000
Barry Lavety	Hibernian	1996	£250,000
Stevie Mallan	Barnsley	2017	£250,000
Kyle McAllister	Derby County	2017	£225,000
Peter Weir	Aberdeen	1981	£220,000
Ian Cameron	Aberdeen	1989	£215,000
Kenny McLean	Aberdeen	2015	£200,000
Brian Martin	Motherwell	1991	£175,000
Ian Munro	Stoke City	1980	£160,000
Billy Davies	Leicester City	1990	£160,000
Keith Walker	Swansea City	1989	£125,000
Tomas Stickroth	Saarbrucken	1992	£125,000
Frank McDougall	Aberdeen	1984	£106,000
Paul Lambert	Motherwell	1993	£100,000
Simon Lappin	Norwich City	2007	£100,000
Stephen McGinn	Watford	2010	£100,000
Dylan Reid	Crystal Palace	2023	£100,000
Kevin McGowne	St Johnstone	1992	£85,000
Billy Thomson	Dundee Utd	1984	£82,500
Gudmunder Torfason	St Johnstone	1992	£80,000
Paul Chalmers	Swansea City	1989	£75,000
Billy Stark	Aberdeen	1983	£70,000
Martin Baker	Kilmarnock	1997	£70,000
Tom Black	Kilmarnock	1991	£65,000
Mark Fulton	Hibernian	1985	£52,000
Bobby McKean	Rangers	1974	£50,000
Roy Aitken	Aberdeen	1992	£50,000
Barry McLaughlin	Kilmarnock	2002	£45,000
Ally McLeod	Southampton	1973	£40,000
Mike Conroy	Reading	1988	£40,000
Peter Weir	Ayr United	1989	£40,000
Ross Stewart	Ross County	2018	£40,000
Jim Blair	Hibernian	1970	38,000
Gordon McQueen	Leeds United	1972	£35,000
Andy Dunlop	Partick Thistle	1981	£35,000
Jimmy Robertson	Tottenham	1964	£33,000
Bobby Torrance	Hibernian	1980	£30,000
Brian Gallagher	Partick Thistle	1989	£30,000
Neil Cooper	Hibernian	1989	£30,000
George McLean	Rangers	1962	£27,500
Rowan Alexander	Brentford	1984	£25,000
Eddie Malone	Dundee	2007	£22,000
Tommy Bryceland	Norwich City	1962	£20,000
Ian Munro	Hibernian	1973	£20,000
John Butler	Airdrie	1988	£20,000
Junior Mendes	Dunfermline	2001	£20,000
Jim Blair	Norwich City	1973	£18,000
Gerry Baker	Man City	1960	£17,000
Archie Gemmell	Preston NE	1967	13,000
Jon McShane	Hamilton	2012	£12,000
Denis Conaghan	Celtic	1971	10,000
Donny McDowell	Kilmarnock	1977	£10,000
Tommy Leishman	Liverpool	1959	£9,000
Jim Rooney	Dumbarton	1986	£8,500
Willie Telfer	Rangers	1958	£8,000
Davie Lindsay	Luton Town	1948	£7,700
Willie Davie	Luton Town	1950	£7,500
Tommy White	Hearts	1963	£7,250
Johnny Deakin	Clyde	1949	£7,000
Don Kerrigan	Aberdeen	1963	£7,000
Willie Renton	Dunfermline	1968	7,000
Eric Sinclair	Airdrie	1984	£7,000
Alex Linwood	Middlesbrough	1946	£6,000
Jimmy Stenhouse	Aberdeen	1948	£6,000
Ally MacLeod	Blackburn Rovers	1956	£6,000
Tommy Robertson	Crystal Palace	1966	£6,000
Denis Conaghan	Baltimore	1967	£5,000
Willie Cunningham	Leicester City	1954	£4,750
Jim Clunie	Bury	1965	£4,750
Tom Morrison	Liverpool	1928	£4,100
Gerry Burrell	Dundee	1951	£4,000
Gerry Quinn	Kilmarnock	1965	£4,000
Archie Knox	Dundee United	1972	£4,000
John Frye	Sheffield Wednesday	1961	£3,500
James Howieson	Hull City	1927	£3,200
Johnny Telford	Third Lanark	1948	£2,500
Bobby Ancell	Newcastle	1936	£2,450
James Hamilton	Rangers	1925	£2,300
Dunky Walker	Nottingham Forest	1923	£2,225
Denis Lawson	Cardiff City	1923	£2,050
George Walker	Notts County	1933	£2,000
Malcom Newlands	Preston NE	1948	£2,000
Alisatir Miller	Hearts	1962	£2,000
Henry Quinn	Celtic	1965	£2,000
Kenny Aird	St Johnstone	1965	£2,000
Davie Colquhoun	Tottenham	1931	£1,800
Willie Summers	Bradford City	1927	£1,620
Dunky McGill	Stirling Albion	1955	£1,500
Willie Dallas	Wrexham	1957	£1,500
Chic Charnley	Ayr United	1984	£1,500
Charlie Pringle	Manchester City	1922	£1,410
Jock Marshall	Middlesbrough	1919	£1,400
Rab Stewart	Ayr United	1962	£1,100
Alex Stuart	Sheffield United	1932	£1,000
George Henderson	Stirling Albion	1950	£1,000
George Stewart	*Worcester City	1954	£1,000
Peter McKay	Corby Town	1958	£1,000
Pat Liney	Bradford City	1966	£1,000
Walter Hay	Rangers	1935	£850
Jimmy Kirk	Bury	1951	£850
Robert Rankin	Dundee	1933	£650
Peter Rice	Raith	1954	£500
Willie Kelly	Dundee United	1945	£450
Angus Stead	Partick Thistle	1942	£350
George Reid	Middlesbrough	1905	£325
Johnny Latimer	Dundee	1936	£325
David Wylie	Fulham	1908	£300
Walter Holbem	Preston NE	1914	£300
Tom Page	Cardiff City	1920	£300
Jimmy Cunningham	Kilmarnock	1911	£250
Dan Wood	Motherwell	1938	£250
Charlie Sutherland	Millwall	1920	£250
John Buchanan	Morton	1921	£250
Tom McKenna	Reading	1945	£250
John McKenzie	Manchester United	1938	£225
George Buchanan	Hearts	1910	£200
John Meechan	Burnley	1933	£180
Richard Black	Morton	1937	£150
Dan Hillocat	Kilmarnock	1920	£150
David Lindsay	Hearts	1905	£100
Jack Fraser	Dundee	1905	£100
William Young	Blackburn Rovers	1937	£100
Tom Brown	Hamilton	1910	£75
John Phillips	East Fife	1935	£75

Again however, once inflation is applied the order of the list changes, with Ian Ferguson returning to the top. The £1 million received for John McGinn has been converted using 2015 inflation rates for the initial £100k fee, and 2018 rates for the remaining £900,000.

Player	Club	Year	Fee	2018 Equivalent
Ian Ferguson	Rangers	1988	£900,000	£2,280,000
Frank McGarvey	Liverpool	1979	£300,000	£1,491,000
Tony Fitzpatrick	Bristol City	1979	£250,000	£1,243,000
John McGinn	Hibernian	2015	£1,000,000	£1,170,000
Stevie Clarke	Chelsea	1987	£422,000	£1,166,000
Frank McAvennie	West Ham	1985	£350,000	£1,042,000
Peter Weir	Aberdeen	1981	£220,000	£828,000
Brian Hamilton	Hibernian	1989	£285,000	£697,000
Ian Munro	Stoke City	1980	£160,000	£674,000
Jimmy Robertson	Tottenham	1964	£33,000	£657,000
Ricky Gillies	Aberdeen	1997	£350,000	£625,000
David Winnie	Aberdeen	1990	£265,000	£592,000
Jim Blair	Hibernian	1970	38,000	£577,400
George McLean	Rangers	1962	£27,500	£576,400
David McNamee	Blackburn Rovers	1999	£300,000	£536,000
Burton O’Brien	Blackburn Rovers	1999	£300,000	£536,000
Ian Cameron	Aberdeen	1989	£215,000	£525,000
Bobby McKean	Rangers	1974	£50,000	£512,000
Ally McLeod	Southampton	1973	£40,000	£475,300
Barry Lavety	Hibernian	1996	£250,000	£461,000
Gordon McQueen	Leeds United	1972	£35,000	£453,700
Tommy Bryceland	Norwich City	1962	£20,000	£419,200
Gerry Baker	Man City	1960	£17,000	£385,000
Brian Martin	Motherwell	1991	£175,000	£369,000
Billy Davies	Leicester City	1990	£160,000	£357,000
Ethan Erhahon	Lincoln City	2023	£350,000	£350,000
Frank McDougall	Aberdeen	1984	£106,000	£335,000
Keith Walker	Swansea City	1989	£125,000	£306,000
Lewis Morgan	Celtic	2018	£275,000	£275,000
Davie Lindsay	Luton Town	1948	£7,700	£275,000
Billy Thomson	Dundee Utd	1984	£82,500	£260,000
Stevie Mallan	Barnsley	2017	£250,000	£258,000
Tomas Stickroth	Saarbrucken	1992	£125,000	£254,000
Tom Morrison	Liverpool	1928	£4,100	£253,000
Willie Davie	Luton Town	1950	£7,500	£252,500
Alex Linwood	Middlesbrough	1946	£6,000	£247,000
Johnny Deakin	Clyde	1949	£7,000	£243,000
Ian Munro	Hibernian	1973	£20,000	£237,600
Kyle McAllister	Derby County	2017	£225,000	£233,000
Billy Stark	Aberdeen	1983	£70,000	£232,000
Archie Gemmell	Preston NE	1967	13,000	£231,800
Jimmy Stenhouse	Aberdeen	1948	£6,000	£214,300
Jim Blair	Norwich City	1973	£18,000	£214,000
Kenny McLean	Aberdeen	2015	£200,000	£213,000
Tommy Leishman	Liverpool	1959	£9,000	£206,000
Paul Lambert	Motherwell	1993	£100,000	£200,100
James Howieson	Hull City	1927	£3,200	£197,000
Willie Telfer	Rangers	1958	£8,000	£183,600
Paul Chalmers	Swansea City	1989	£75,000	£183,300
Kevin McGowne	St Johnstone	1992	£85,000	£173,000
Bobby Ancell	Newcastle	1936	£2,450	£170,100
Gudmunder Torfason	St Johnstone	1992	£80,000	£162,600
Rowan Alexander	Brentford	1984	£25,000	£157,900
Mark Fulton	Hibernian	1985	£52,000	£155,000
Tommy White	Hearts	1963	£7,250	£148,100
Ally MacLeod	Blackburn Rovers	1956	£6,000	£147,100
Don Kerrigan	Aberdeen	1963	£7,000	£144,000
George Walker	Notts County	1933	£2,000	£140,600
Denis Conaghan	Celtic	1971	10,000	£138,900
Simon Lappin	Norwich City	2007	£100,000	£138,000
James Hamilton	Rangers	1925	£2,300	£137,400
Tom Black	Kilmarnock	1991	£65,000	£137,000
Dunky Walker	Nottingham Forest	1923	£2,225	£132,200
Andy Dunlop	Partick Thistle	1981	£35,000	£132,000
Stephen McGinn	Watford	2010	£100,000	£128,000
Willie Cunningham	Leicester City	1954	£4,750	£127,800
Bobby Torrance	Hibernian	1980	£30,000	£126,400
Martin Baker	Kilmarnock	1997	£70,000	£125,000
Gerry Burrell	Dundee	1951	£4,000	£123,400
Denis Lawson	Cardiff City	1923	£2,050	£121,800
Davie Colquhoun	Tottenham	1931	£1,800	£120,400
Willie Renton	Dunfermline	1968	7,000	£119,300
Tommy Robertson	Crystal Palace	1966	£6,000	£109,800
Mike Conroy	Reading	1988	£40,000	£105,000
Roy Aitken	Aberdeen	1992	£50,000	£102,000
Willie Summers	Bradford City	1927	£1,620	£100,000
Dylan Reid	Crystal Palace	2023	£100,000	£100,000
Peter Weir	Ayr United	1989	£40,000	£98,000
Jim Clunie	Bury	1965	£4,750	£89,400
Johnny Telford	Third Lanark	1948	£2,500	£89,300
Denis Conaghan	Baltimore	1967	£5,000	£89,100
Charlie Pringle	Manchester City	1922	£1,410	£78,700
John Frye	Sheffield Wednesday	1961	£3,500	£76,500
Gerry Quinn	Kilmarnock	1965	£4,000	£76,100
Jock Marshall	Middlesbrough	1919	£1,400	£75,700
Brian Gallagher	Partick Thistle	1989	£30,000	£73,300
Neil Cooper	Hibernian	1989	£30,000	£73,300
Malcom Newlands	Preston NE	1948	£2,000	£71,400
Barry McLaughlin	Kilmarnock	2002	£45,000	£71,000
Alex Stuart	Sheffield United	1932	£1,000	£68,600
Donny McDowell	Kilmarnock	1977	£10,000	£61,000
Walter Hay	Rangers	1935	£850	£59,400
John Butler	Airdrie	1988	£20,000	£53,000
Archie Knox	Dundee United	1972	4,000	£51,900
Robert Rankin	Dundee	1933	£650	£45,700
Alisatir Miller	Hearts	1962	£2,000	£41,900
Ross Stewart	Ross County	2018	£40,000	£40,000
George Reid	Middlesbrough	1905	£325	£38,800
Dunky McGill	Stirling Albion	1955	£1,500	£38,700
Henry Quinn	Celtic	1965	£2,000	£38,000
Kenny Aird	St Johnstone	1965	£2,000	£38,000
Willie Dallas	Wrexham	1957	£1,500	£35,500
David Wylie	Fulham	1908	£300	£35,451
Walter Holbem	Preston NE	1914	£300	£34,000
George Henderson	Stirling Albion	1950	£1,000	£33,700
Junior Mendes	Dunfermline	2001	£20,000	£32,000
Eddie Malone	Dundee	2007	£22,000	£30,000
Jimmy Cunningham	Kilmarnock	1911	£250	£28,900
George Stewart	*Worcester City	1954	£1,000	£26,900
Jimmy Kirk	Bury	1951	£850	£26,200
Jim Rooney	Dumbarton	1986	£8,500	£24,500
Rab Stewart	Ayr United	1962	£1,100	£23,100
George Buchanan	Hearts	1910	£200	£23,100
Peter McKay	Corby Town	1958	£1,000	£23,000
Johnny Latimer	Dundee	1936	£325	£22,600
Eric Sinclair	Airdrie	1984	£7,000	£22,100
Willie Kelly	Dundee United	1945	£450	£19,100
Pat Liney	Bradford City	1966	£1,000	£18,300
Dan Wood	Motherwell	1938	£250	£16,500
Angus Stead	Partick Thistle	1942	£350	£16,200
John McKenzie	Manchester United	1938	£225	£14,900
Jon McShane	Hamilton	2012	£12,000	£14,000
Peter Rice	Raith	1954	£500	£13,400
Tom Page	Cardiff City	1920	£300	£13,200
John Meechan	Burnley	1933	£180	£12,700
Charlie Sutherland	Millwall	1920	£250	£12,300
John Buchanan	Morton	1921	£250	£12,000
David Lindsay	Hearts	1905	£100	£11,900
Jack Fraser	Dundee	1905	£100	£11,900
Tom McKenna	Reading	1945	£250	£10,600
Richard Black	Morton	1937	£150	£10,100
Tom Brown	Hamilton	1910	£75	£8,700
Dan Hillocat	Kilmarnock	1920	£150	£7,300
William Young	Blackburn Rovers	1937	£100	£6,700
John Phillips	East Fife	1935	£75	£5,200
Chic Charnley	Ayr United	1984	£1,500	£4,800