Each franchise will receive 6 contracts to use, EVER. Once these 6 contracts expire, they are gone.
They will be:
One 4-year contract
One 3-year contract
Four 2-year contracts
What the contract will guarantee is that the player cannot age or retire for the length of the contract.
The player in question may also not earn performance gains for the length of the contract.
A single player may never receive more than one contract.
The contracts may be given out at any time. If you want to hold on to your 4-year contract until 2003 to use it then, do so. It's up to you when they are used.
That said, you may only have a maximum of four contracted players at any given time.
The aim of the contracts is to extend the careers of bonafide original ROM stars who had lengthier-than-average careers.
Please be ready to name the players who you want contracted for this offseason when it comes time to meet with LordSummerisle to do aging/retirements.