
Beyond the pound and dollar amounts included in contracts, clauses regarding other fine details have become an increasingly valuable aspect of the sports business.
The content of sports contracts (just like every other contract) are typically, boring, lengthy, and filled with tons of legal jargon, visibly barring the huge sums of money stipulated in these contracts.
However, every once in a while, there’s an uncharacteristic add-on to a contract that could only exist in some uncanny cases. Sports contracts are notable examples of these eerie cases. Sometimes it’s a bizarre performance bonus that only pays out in strange circumstances. Other times it’s the banning of certain off-field behaviours. In others, not ignoring cases where it could take the form of oddly specific stipends.
Nevertheless, the strangest clauses, bonuses, and stipends have revealed that the business of sports contracts can be a weird one.
In this piece, we look at the more outlandish, bizarre, and crazy clauses that sports stars either demanded or were assigned by their teams.
Giuseppe Reina’s ‘yearly housing’ clause (Football)
First, it should be reiterated that the importance of having a lawyer cannot be overemphasised. Especially considering the fact no human is capable of navigating all of the opaque languages that make up contract law.
The deal involving German forward Guiseppe Reina and the deal he signed with Arminia Bielefeld back in 1996 serves as a prime example of how seemingly unclear these terms can appear.
Reina was clearly interested in living the high life, so he insisted that the contract include a language requiring the team to build him a new house each and every season.

The club agreed to his demands but made sure to take Reina at his word as he never specified the size or type of property he wanted every season. Arminia Bielefeld kept up its end of the deal by building him a house each year out of Legos through the four-year stay of the German forward!
Rollie Fingers’ Moustache Growth Clause (Baseball)
Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley was a consummate promoter, pulling off weird stunts and sometimes incomprehensible acts such as implementing a mechanical rabbit to pop up and deliver new baseballs to the home-plate umpire and introducing orange baseballs into a few exhibition games.
One of Finley’s most memorable stunts occurred in the 1972 season when he offered a cash reward to any of his players who could grow a ‘handlebar’ moustache by Father’s Day. One of Oakland A’s pitchers, Rollie Fingers, was up to the task and grew his trademark curly moustache that he maintains to this day.

Rollie Fingers was an excellent relief pitcher in the 1970s, racking up nearly 350 saves. A moustache which will eventually become a trademark and a fan favourite saw Fingers’ next contract in 1973 included a $300 bonus for growing a moustache and an extra $100 for the purchase of moustache wax.
Spencer Prior’s ‘Sheep Testicle’ Clause (Football)
This has to go down as arguably the most ridiculous contract clause of all time. In 2001, Cardiff City F.C. signed defender Spencer Prior to a three-year contract worth £700,000. No one will ever understand why the following clause was included in his contract by Cardiff City owner, Sam Hammam.
In order to sign with Cardiff City, Prior had to agree to eat sheep’s testicles – a delicacy in Hamman’s homeland Lebanon.

Prior indeed was made to eat sheep’s testicles. Apparently, it was a tradition for players on the team and was thought to bring them good luck ahead of matches. Cardiff City manager Alan Cork as quoted by Bleacher Report said:
“There are two types of balls at this club: footballs and sheep’s balls.”
Prior agreed to eat the testicles, as long as they were cooked with lemon, salt and parsley.
Glen Davis’ ‘Weight Watcher’ Clause (Basketball)
Boston Celtics centre Glen “Big Baby” Davis got himself in quite a contract clause during his active years.
When the Celtics signed Davis on a two-year deal before the 2009-10 season, they ensured they got their money’s worth by making sure that the guaranteed money didn’t lead to Davis slacking on his workouts.

Davis’ contract included a potential earning of $500,000 annually- provided that he remained under 310lb (pounds).
Weight clauses are nothing new in the NBA but 310 pounds for a 6’9″ player, who runs up and down the court for hours appeared a tough ask for a player who was prone to obesity.
Roy Oswalt’s Tractor Incentive Clause (Baseball)
Typically, performance bonuses are created prior to the season and involve sustaining excellent play over a lengthy stretch of time.
However, one familiar act in the world of sports is an enterprising owner seeing fit to offer a player an incentive should they accomplish a specific feat in the short term.

Besides a potential spot in the World Series, Houston Astros star pitcher Roy Oswalt had some extra motivation heading into his Game 6 NLCS start against the St. Louis Cardinals in 2005. Team owner Drayton McLane offered a special clause that if Oswalt won, he would be gifted an all-purpose tractor. We have heard of bizarre bonuses before but this was obviously something new quite surprisingly this was enough motivation for the pitcher to produce the desired performance to seal Houston Astros’ place in the World Series.
Oswalt delivered by pitching seven innings and helping Houston clinch the National League pennant. McLane kept his end of the bargain and gifted Oswalt with a $200,000 tractor that had to be disclosed to Major League Baseball as a contract incentive.
Rolf-Christel Guie-Mien’s wife’s ‘Cooking Class’ clause (Football)

It is unsurprising for footballers to look out for their family’s best interests (as well as theirs) when signing a new deal with a club but Guie-Mien certainly took things one step further. The Congolese international instructed Eintracht Frankfurt to arrange cooking classes for his wife as part of his deal to join them in 1999. The midfielder was insistent that his other half’s improved culinary skills would help him settle into German football better. Thankfully his wife did not find it offensive and took the classes well and learnt some exquisite dishes that she probably wouldn’t have dreamt of!
Luis Suarez ‘No-biting’ Clause (Football)
The mercurial Uruguayan’s past behaviour caused Barcelona to add one of the most ludicrous clauses you’d ever see when they agreed to a £64.98m deal to sign the striker from Liverpool in the summer of 2014- a ‘no-biting clause’
Suarez was already banned when he arrived at the Blaugrana for taking a chomp out of Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup group stage clash against Italy.

The clause appeared a necessity given that Suarez had previously bitten PSV Eindhoven star Otman Bakkal and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic during his time at Ajax and Liverpool respectively.
Former Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu denied the existence of a clause at the time but he has since been accused of lying about the club’s financial state by his successor Joan Laporta, so it is plausible to assume that Barcelona were cautious in their contract dealings with ‘El Pistolero’.
Jordan’s “Love-of-the-Game Clause” (Basketball)
A common, and completely understandable, contract clause that many professional teams input into players’ contracts to limit their off-field actions.
Typically, they address other physical activities that could potentially result in injury and prevent the player from earning his paycheck. Even playing the same sport can be off-limit if played outside of the designated league. Over time this has proven a smart way to protect investments and avoid any negative consequences that may come because of anything from jet skiing to rock climbing.

But it was a little different with Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bulls seemingly did everything to please their franchise player, which was apparent with the “Love of the Game” clause imbibed into his contract. The clause allowed Jordan to play basketball whenever and wherever he wanted. Outside of the NBA, Jordan was free to play pickup games or scrimmages whether they were in a local gym, playground, or an exhibition anywhere in the world.


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