The McCullum brothers - Nathan and Brendon - still have New Zealand contracts.
But Otago has one fewer player at the top table.
Neil Broom lost form last season and was expected to lose his national contract, but new test cap Neil Wagner has, surprisingly, been overlooked.
Wagner's non-inclusion on the 20-strong list was the big surprise when New Zealand Cricket announced the contracts yesterday.
"It was disappointing from our point of view because it is one less player we can contract domestically," Otago chief executive Ross Dykes told the Otago Daily Times.
"It will put a bit of pressure on us. We thought Neil deserved one. He was the top wicket-taker in four-day cricket.
"I thought he would have got a contract because he has had four good seasons in a row.
"He has proved that he wasn't just a new kid on the block.
"He has got better and better and got good players out. I'm sure he will continue to do that.
"But it is a subjective thing, at the end of the day, and they can only pick 20. I'm sure Neil will prove that he deserves one next time round."
Wagner (26) has been the most successful bowler in domestic cricket since his arrival in Dunedin from South Africa in 2008.
He topped the Plunket Shield wickets tally last season with 46 victims at an average of 26.32.
Wagner was born in Pretoria and started his first-class career in South Africa before moving to New Zealand and making his Otago debut in 2008-09.
He was also the leading Plunket Shield wicket-taker in 2010-11, and it was no surprise that he was rushed into the test squad for the tour of the West Indies once his eligibility had been sorted.
Wagner and Broom will now be contracted by Otago.
The six domestic associations are allowed to contract up to 14 players - up two from last year - and Dykes expected the Otago contracts to be completed by the end of July.
The retirement of Craig Cumming means there is room for at least three new Otago contracted players.
Talented batsman Hamish Rutherford is certain to be included after scoring 607 runs in a month at the end of last summer. This included a sizzling 239 against Wellington at the University Oval.
Other players likely to get their first Otago contracts include Southland fast bowler Jacob Duffy and offspinner Mark Craig.
Surprise at Wagner's omission from the national contracts was matched by the absence of Wellington pace bowler Mark Gillespie, who made a successful comeback to the test scene last summer.
Dean Brownlie, Doug Bracewell, Andrew Ellis, Tarun Nethula and Kruger van Wyk were given New Zealand contracts for the first time, and James Franklin regained a contract after missing out last year.
Other players included in last year's list who were not contracted for 2012-13 include Hamish Bennett, Andy McKay, Jesse Ryder, Luke Woodcock and Reece Young.
Set criteria are used to rank players across all three forms of the game, with test cricket receiving twice the weighting of ODIs and twenty/20 internationals.
The players with the highest aggregate scores are then offered New Zealand Cricket contracts.
NZ cricket
Contracted players
Trent Boult (Northern), Doug Bracewell (Central), Dean Brownlie (Canterbury), Andrew Ellis (Canterbury), Daniel Flynn (Northern), James Franklin (Wellington), Martin Guptill (Auckland), Chris Martin (Auckland), Brendon McCullum (Otago), Nathan McCullum (Otago), Kyle Mills (Auckland), Tarun Nethula (Central), Rob Nicol (Canterbury), Jacob Oram (Central), Tim Southee (Northern), Ross Taylor (Central), Kruger van Wyk (Central), Daniel Vettori (Northern), BJ Watling (Northern), Kane Williamson (Northern).
