The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) introduced central contracts in 2000 as a way to give them more control over their best players.
Last week, the ECB issued 39 central contracts to men's players for the 2026-27 season. Of them, 30 were full central contracts; the other nine were development contracts.
For the 2025-26 term, the ECB announced their women's central contracts at the end of November. Then, 17 players were on full contracts and four players were on 'skills' deals, akin to the men's development contracts.
Should a player receive an ECB central contract, the ECB effectively becomes their primary employer ahead of the county side that they also represent.
It is expected that the ECB will pay most or all of a centrally contracted player's salary, although that will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
They are designed to be forward-facing, meaning that when they are issued annually they are done so in a way that rewards their current top performers and looks at those players who are likely to play key roles in the near future.
Central contracts are multiformat and are issued to men's and women's players.
For women's contracts, it is understood there is a bigger increase in a centrally contracted player's salary from what they would have received from their counties compared to the men's game.
Central contracts mean the ECB has more control over on-pitch and off-pitch factors for every player. These often include player workloads, injury recovery, strength and conditioning, and coaching resources, and they can be managed internally.
What are other elements and challenges are there to central contracts?
For development contracts, a player effectively earns a 25% pay rise. Their county side will pay them 50% of their salary, while the ECB will pay the other 50% and an additional 25% on top of that.
England men's chief selector Marcus North has stated how much he wants to see players around the England Lions team dedicate more time to playing for the side instead of competing in franchise leagues and similar competitions.
One challenge counties will face is when a player that has previously been centrally contracted loses that deal and returns to be solely paid by their county.
A recent example of this is Kent batter Zak Crawley, who lost his central contract when the latest renewals were announced.
Prior to it being announced formally, it is likely that discussions would have taken place as to how Crawley's salary now looks and how it would have affected Kent's salary cap allowance now they are his sole employers.
Kent announced Crawley had signed a new contract with the county three days after the ECB announced its latest list of centrally contracted players.
This article is the latest from BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team. This question is from Ian in Norwich.
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