I think if your statements are turned around, your point of view is proved false. If I were to say Player A relaxes for a few season after hitting a big contract and then in his next contract year, doesn't "relax" and truly puts forth more effort in cage sessions, weight room, film, developing a new pitch, etc... in order to justify a new big contract. That is pretty much the premise of a contract year performance. Whether or not players actually do that, well, I don't know their personal training habits but I buy into this theory. Exactly. Contract Year Performance is called common sense. If you are going to be a free agent and are hungry for that big deal, you are going to do everything in your power to have a monster year so you get paid. Thanks Jeffrey Hammonds and Jeff Suppan for proving my point.