Contracts: My experience

Introduction

In my personal experience, contracts are everywhere. From the millions of dollars made by professional athletes to the “accept” button on an iTunes update, there are no shortage of examples. A contract for me has always centred around sports. An athletes worth is gauged by his or her contract. A point of pride for these professional athletes is how much money they are able to get from their employer. I was always enamoured with the money made over a specific number of years. What I overlooked was the intricacies of the contract. Considerations dictate an athletes behaviour. They can dictate a players weight, what they are allowed to do away from the team and even circumstances where a contract may become void. Contracts shape and alter many lives. This is why understanding contracts is so important.

How would describe/explain the concept of a contract to someone

In describing a contract to someone, I would say it is a promise or promises that are legally-binding (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013). A contract can be verbal or written, though verbal contracts can be especially hard to prove in a court of law (Rousseau, 2001). There are four conditions of a contract: offer, acceptance, consideration and the contract is legally binding (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013). The offer should be explicit and presented in an obvious manner so both parties understand what they are getting into(Besnard, Doutre, & Hunter, 2008). Once an offer is made the receiving party might decide to negotiate and alter certain terms of the contract (Besnard et al., 2008). A negotiation could be centred around length, compensation or specific clauses within a contract (Besnard et al., 2008). This can be a lengthy process that can lead to tensions between the two sides. You see this in professional sports when an athlete decides to hold out of games in order to force the hand of management. Contracts should be negotiated in good faith between two consenting parties. There should be no power imbalance between the two parties, though this is not always the case (Besnard et al., 2008). The contract should be between two consenting adults and not include a minor (without parental consent) (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013). The two parties should be of sound mind during negotiations (Blum, 2007). If one side is, for example, intoxicated during the signing of a contract it may void in a court of law (Blum, 2007). 

Once a contract is accepted, the two sides are bonded to the terms of the contract. One side will write the terms and the other will sign the contract, thus beginning the agreement. This is true for a written contract. A verbal contract is a little less formal. It can be a verbal agreement between two sides or it can be a hand shake deal (Rousseau, 2001). Because there is no concrete evidence to the completion of the deal things can get a little messy (Rousseau, 2001). Each side has deniability and the lack of documentation makes arbitration almost impossible (Rousseau, 2001). This why we are seeing a decrease in the “gentleman’s agreement” in favour of a variety of written contracts. 

Considerations, as I briefly touched on before, are mutual promises of conduct between two parties (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013). For example, a professional football player must refrain from dangerous or extreme activities such as snowboarding or waterskiing. These contracts are million dollar investments in a dangerous contact sport. With the risk of injury already so high, the team and athlete cannot afford an outside activity adding to this risk. Therefore, breach of these considerations would create a circumstance where a contract would be void. The final condition of a contract is the legally binding portion (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013). In order to promote good faith and performance of considerations, a contract should be legally binding (Olivo & Fitgerald, 2013).The language in the contract should be clear and concise concerning the considerations of both sides. It should also feature a prominent signature from the signee. 

Does a contract change with changing circumstances? If so, how; if not, why not if circumstances vary?

I believe a contract should change with changing circumstances. When someone offers you a contract they expect a certain performance or obligation. In sport, an owner will offer an athlete a contract based on past and future performance. They also bet on the health and conduct of said player. If the player were to be arrested for a crime or seriously injured, the offer would most definitely change. You might see a decrease in monetary value or the number of years offered. If the circumstance is extreme you may even see the owner pull the offer off the table all together. Offering a contract is an investment and a gamble. It is a leap of faith and an investment in someone and what they are or will become. 

How does/ has this notion of contract affected you in your life?

In my life contracts have been quite impactful. Growing up, I was an avid athlete. As you rise through the ranks, sport becomes much more serious. At the higher levels coaches expect full commitment and a strict code of conduct. In order to enforce this we would often sign codes of conduct contracts. This was a way to fully commit to the team and something bigger then ourselves. This contract was a great team exercise and it also provided us with accountability for our actions. The most controversial contract I have signed in my life was in high school. I attended St. Andrews College, an esteemed all boys school known for sport and discipline. Upon acceptance, the students were to sign a contract outlining expectations. This sounded reasonable enough at the time. However, upon reading the contract, I was shocked. Considerations included endearment to events such as military parade in the cadets program and random drug tests as they saw fit. Quite a heavy contract for a fourteen year old kid looking to excel on the football team. I would say contracts were a large part of my life through my involvement in sports and my attendance of a strict private school.

Should people be held to their contractual obligations? Describe an instance where you did not meet your contractual obligations. Should you have been penalized for not meeting these obligations? Why/why not?

When it comes to contractual obligations, I believe people must be held to a certain standard. In signing a contract, one should expect to honour their pledge. You do have the choice to refuse to sign the contract after all. Maybe you don’t read every consideration in the contract but often times you understand the vein in which it was written. Upon signing my sports code of conduct contract it was implied that we were to listen to our coaches and stay out of trouble. This much was clear. However, I am not going to sit here and lecture you on following every single consideration in every single contract. I believe there should be accountability in the breaking of a contract. This does not mean that I followed every contract I ever signed. This is especially true when it comes to my high school agreement. The contract specifically stated what was expected of us. Attend every class, go to cadet training and most of all no partying. At some point throughout my four year career I broke every rule in this contract. Now, I never got into any real trouble but there were small bumps along way. I managed to keep the majority of my misdeeds a total secret. If I was caught I should have absolutely been punished for my mishaps. I signed a contract and promised to uphold the terms. I chose not to. In doing so I accepted all potential consequences of my actions. Despite my clear disregard for my high school contract, I still firmly believe that people should live up to their contracts. I guess that is hypocritical but here we are.



Works Cited

Besnard, P., Doutre, S., Hunter, A. (2008). Computational Models of Argument. Fairfax, VA: The authors and IOS Press, 134-142.

Blum, B. (2007). Contracts. New York, NY: Aspen Publisher, 463-465.

Olivo, L., & Fitzgerald, J. (2013). Fundamentals of Contract Law. Toronto, ON: Edmond Montgomery Publications Limited,  2-4, 23-24, 53.

Rousseau, D. (2001).Schema, promise and mutaility: The Building Blocks of the Psychological Contract. Britain, UK: The British Psychological Society. 74, 525-528.

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