Sports Contract Clauses That Will Blow Your Mind

Athletes are some of the most revered people in the planet. Almost every person in every country has an athlete that he or she idolises, and because of this high level of adulation, some of these athletes believe they deserve to get anything they want.

So, if you want to know which athlete has some ridiculous demands in his contract, then read on.

Bobby Bonilla

New York Mets’ left fielder Bobby Bonilla is living the quiet life after retiring from major league baseball back in 2001. But, that doesn’t mean this athlete isn’t getting paid. According to reports, Bonilla signed a contract with the New York Mets that stipulates he will be paid $1.19 million annually despite being retired for more than a decade.

Rick DiPietro

Rick DiPietro seems to be following in Bonilla’s footsteps when he signed a contract that guaranteed him an annual salary of $67.5 million for 15 years. But, the goalie for the New York Islanders only played two full seasons because he got injured afterwards.

When he did come back, DiPietro’s playing time averaged only 10 games per year. Eventually, his team realised that he was too expensive and decided just to pay him $1.5 million every season until his contract expires in 2029.

Spencer Prior

Now, this athlete is a bit different compared to the first two because though his contract had a weird clause in it, the stipulation didn’t include money. Prior seemed to be the victim of a silly prank orchestrated by Sam Hammam, the owner of Cardiff City.

According to Prior’s contract, the football player for Cardiff City is supposed to eat a meal of sheep’s brains before a game. Perhaps Hammam thought that it would help Prior perform better if he ate something as disgusting as a sheep’s brain.

Canelo Àlvarez

This Mexican boxer is quite famous for not only going toe-to-toe with Floyd Mayweather Jr., but he is also popular due to the contract he signed, which basically awards him a ton of money. Àlvarez signed a deal with DAZN, a London-based sports streaming service, wherein his next 11 bouts would be streamed through them.

In exchange for this exclusivity, Àlvarez will be paid $365 million. So, this means that Àlvarez will already get paid $30 million for every fight regardless of whether he wins it or not. On top of that, Àlvarez will still get paid for the number of tickets sold at the venue.

Troy Glaus

This article did imply that all of the athletes here had ridiculous and self-serving demands on their contracts. But, it bears noting that not all athletes are like that. Enter, Troy Glaus, who is probably the best husband, if not baseball player, in the world of sports.

According to reports, Glaus tried to balance his career and his support for his wife’s passion, which are equestrian events. Ann Glaus longed to be an equestrian and often competed while Troy was busy playing with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But, eventually, Ann decided to forego her passion to support her husband. Troy agreed to repay his wife’s support by stipulating in his contract that he be paid an extra $250,000 annually, which went to Ann’s equestrian training. It was a sweet gesture that further solidified their marriage as they’re still together up to this day.

You have to admit that athletes are a weird and funny bunch of people. Their level of weirdness makes contract-signing such an exciting event. It makes you wonder if the people in charge of document signing, like the ones managing DMS integration and IT solutions, ever read contracts like these and shook their heads in disbelief.