Professional athletes are always asking for weird, unconventional stipulations in their contracts.
Here is a list of my 10 favorites.
Time for a thread 👇👇👇
1) In 2017, Manny Ramirez played in Japan for the Kochi Island Fighting Dogs.
His demands:
- Optional practices
- Personal car & driver
- "Manny" on his jersey
The best one?
Despite earning $200M in the MLB, Ramirez requested "unlimited free sushi for the entire season.”
2) Coming off a world championship in 2008, the Boston Celtics offered Glen "Big Baby" Davis a contract extension.
With one caveat of course...
To keep his weight under control, Davis would be paid an extra $500k for each year of the deal he kept his weight under 310 pounds.
3) Michael Jordan signed his first professional basketball contract in 1984.
In that contract, Jordan demanded a "Love of The Game" clause be included.
Unheard of at the time, the clause allowed Jordan to play in any competitive pickup basketball game - regardless of liability.
4) Mark McGwire signed with the Cardinals in 1998, but included a clause to leverage his popularity.
McGwire would get $1 for each fan above 2.8M in season attendance.
After 3.2M fans came to see McGwire battle Sammy Sosa for the HR title, he walked away with an extra $400k.
5) Rick Mirer was the 2nd overall pick in the 1993 NFL Draft, yet he's most remembered for his original Seattle Seahawks contract.
Don Yee, now Tom Brady's agent, included a clause that would pay Mirer under all circumstances "up to and including the end of the world.”
6) In 1984, the KC Royals signed George Brett to an extension which included 2 weird clauses.
Brett would be returned the bat he used in the infamous 1983 "Pine Tar Game".
Brett also received part ownership in a nearby apartment complex, calling it a "nice little kicker”.
7) Dennis Bergkamp arrived at Arsenal in 1995, eventually becoming one of the best players in club history.
His one flaw?
He was scared to fly.
Given the UK is an island, Bergkamp's contract stated he would not have to travel with the club when flying was the only option.
8) In 2000, the Mets famously bought out the final year of Bobby Bonilla's contract.
Bonilla deferred $5.9M into 25 payments of $1.19M, due each July 1st from 2011-2035 - commonly referred to as "Bobby Bonilla Day".
With an 8% interest rate, Bonilla turned his $5.9M into $29.8M
9) Everyone knows Bonilla's story, but how about Darryl Strawberry's deal?
The Mets deferred $700k of his $1.8M contract, offering an annuity with 5.1% interest.
The craziest part?
Strawberry didn't pay his taxes, so the IRS auctioned off the $2M in payments for $1.3M in 2015.
10) Hakeem Olajuwon won the 1993-94 NBA MVP award after averaging 27 Points & 12 Rebounds.
The most interesting part?
Michael Jordan made over 25% more than Olajuwon without playing in an NBA game.
The Bulls continued to pay MJ's $4M salary as he played minor league baseball.
If you learned something today and want to receive more updates about the business and money behind sports, subscribe here to receive my free daily newsletter.
huddleup.substack.com
Sources:
thesportster.com/entertainment/…
ftw.usatoday.com/2017/03/manny-…
bleacherreport.com/articles/70401…
espn.com/new-york/mlb/s…
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.