Contract clauses are nothing new in football.
There have been some bizarre ones down through the years.
Mario Balotelli signed his fair share of clause-filled deals, such as the so-called ‘good behaviour’ clause at Liverpool.
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This meant he could receive up to two red cards every season and land an extra €1.2m. A third dismissal would mean no pay out.
Later, when he moved on loan to Milan, the San Siro club requested that he sign an ‘anti scandal’ clause.
Denis Bergkamp’s fear of flying saw the Dutch legend insert a clause into his contracts which would keep his feet firmly on the ground.
They hardly get more bizarre, however, than the ‘space’ clause inserted into Stefan Schwartz’s Sunderland contract in 1999.
At the time, commercial travel into space appeared to be just around the corner - and Schwarz had spoken about his desire to head out into the great unknown.
So the Black Cats forced him to sign a deal which would be invalidated if he went beyond the limits of the earth’s atmosphere.
He didn't - and instead the Swede took off into retirement after four years at the Stadium of Light.
These days the biggest headlines tend to relate to release clauses, with a handful of players at Barcelona and Real Madrid valued at a whopping €1 billion by their clubs.
But this week a fairly standard clause has come under the spotlight.
Promotion winning players can usually expect to activate a number of clauses in their contracts, such as a well-earned pay rise.
And on some occasions they can even look forward to an automatic extension of their deals.
For Harry Arter, both were triggered when Nottingham Forest ended their 23-year absence from the Premier League last season.
What makes this so strange is the Ireland international did not play a single minute of Forest’s successful promotion push.
He spent the entire campaign on-loan at Charlton in League One and then Notts County in the National League, making a total of 15 appearances between the two spells.
But a deal is a deal, and Forest’s promotion winning campaign earned all members of their squad improved terms, including Arter.
So now the 32-year-old finds himself at a club that doesn’t want him - and on wages that could hamper efforts to get him out of the City Ground.
Forest, according to a report on The Athletic, are seeking to reach an agreement with the 19-time capped midfielder to terminate his contract.
But just how readily would a player in the autumn years of his career give up the best contract he’s likely to get between now and retirement?
Arter is believed to be under contract at Forest - under the new terms - until the end of the 2023/24 campaign.
Prior to the triggering of the pay rise clause, his wages were thought to be just shy of €24,000-a-week.
It is not known what percentage increase was included in his deal.
But even a 10 percent raise (€26,000) would make him a highly expensive underage coach, which is effectively his role as long as he remains at Forest.
According to The Athletic, he will help with the development of the players in the Under-21 side and will train with them on a daily basis.
First team boss Steve Cooper has made it clear that he doesn’t see Arter featuring in his Premier League plans.
Arter’s time at Forest hasn’t been a happy one. It’s a far cry from his days with Bournemouth, winning promotions to the Championship and then the Premier League.
He made 79 top-flight appearances for the Cherries, and then another 25 with Cardiff.
Before his move to Forest on a three-year deal in the summer of 2020, he had helped Fulham win promotion from the Championship during a loan spell at Craven Cottage.
However, in his first season at Forest he made only 15 appearances, and then was sent on loan to Charlton and neighbours County.
Another loan deal has all but been ruled out thanks to his pay rise and the fact that likely suitors would struggle to foot the bill, even if Forest were to stump up some of the cash.
And so he is currently in limbo, while Forest and others might take a moment to reflect on the wisdom of their clause policies.
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