I don't agree that a player has to score a lot of goals to get more attention, in this case a contract. I personally don't think a player has to score goals, but contributing greatly to the team's play is also very good. I don't deny that they need to score goals to win games, but for me personally, I don't care who scores, because it's a team game, not an individual game.
If our standard is to look at players by how many goals they score, then we will never see the genius midfielders that we have now.
Actually you're wrong, most of people who received Ballon d'Or are strikers and the highest goal is sexier than the highest assist.
A good midfielder do receive some attention especially manager who want to recruit a good player. But when it comes to statistic, striker is better than any other positions.
PR awards have little to do with the game. Another thing is that the media component of football as a business is of great importance and because of this, strikers always cost more than everyone else because they attract more attention, although their contribution to the game may be even less than that of midfielders (or goalkeepers). The most striking example is Messi, who was promoted at the expense of Xavi, Iniesta and Co. and actually stole all their merits for himself.