Do footballers lose motivation after signing long-term contracts?

Arsenal or Tottenham fans may not welcome the comparison but, in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Dele Alli, both North London clubs have players whose contracts have received more attention than their on-field performances. Is there any basis to the charge that long-term deals lead to a loss in motivation, though?

To some extent, the assumption that a player’s contribution wanes as soon as the ink dries on a new agreement is rooted in the idea that performances peak before a contract extension. Aubameyang is a case in point: criticism over the three-year deal he signed in September 2020 is partly due to his failure to maintain the phenomenally high standards he set during the 2019-20 campaign, when he scored 29 goals in 44 games, including match-winning contributions in both the FA Cup semi-final and final.

Evidence supporting the concept of a “contract year”, when a player’s performances improve during the final year of an existing deal, is mixed. A study of 275 players who spent two consecutive seasons in Serie A between 2012 and 2014 – the dates before and after signing a contract – suggested players performed better in the final year of their agreements.

Speaking about the subject in a recent interview, Burnley midfielder Jack Cork, who is among a group of players set to leave Turf Moor when his contract expires in the summer, hinted that players entering the final year of existing deals were keen to impress potential suitors, as well as their current employers. “We don’t want to let ourselves down,” said Cork. “If results go badly, it only really reflects badly on us and that’s not something you want on your CV, that you didn’t want to do something because you were all out of contract in the summer.”

The idea of a