Brand loyalty and MvdP's deal with Canyon

[trener1]

Originally Posted by callmeishmael

I don't think Canyon at all expect MVdP to ride for another 10 years; I think they're just locking him in until the end of his career. I'd be very surprised if there wasn't a sunset clause (i.e. the deal ends if MDVP retires before that point, as seems all but certain).

I would tend to disagree with this.
First off it isn't out of the question that he races until 39 if he really wants to.
Valverde raced until 41 (or something like that), and while the last year or 2 he wasn't winning much he was still very much at the pointy end of every race and getting podiums or top 10's.

Second, even if he does retire from the world tour road scene say in 5 years, he will still likely ride gravel and other fun events and would stay on board for the duration of the contract in some sort of ambassador role.

There are a number of examples, some have already been mentioned, like Jens with Trek and Sagen with Specialized, another example is Ted king who retired 9 years ago from the WT but is still riding Cannondales and has been for the last 15 years or so.