The rise of the long term contract

Player Approximate Value (PAV) per season, before and after selected players signed a contract 5 years or longer.

Modern 5 year deal = all deals identified from research which were commenced and completed from 2012 to 2021.
'Mega' contract = any identified contract 6 years and up in AFL era.
Player Approximate Value (PAV) is a system which quantifies an individual's attacking, defensive and midfield contributions to their team.
Chart: ABC Source: HPNFooty Get the data