@gemlog In hindsight I should have learned from the Sergei Federov contract negotiations back in 1997 but I was young and I only learned about it after the Redwings Stanley Cup run in 1998 from a book I picked up in Michigan.
Every pro league is like this. Hell, even the NCAA (US college sports league) is like this now that NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals are legal. Students are entering the transfer portal every year to move to a school that will pay better or give them a better chance when they go pro