Red State Tax Rate Drops Flacco to Second Highest “Paid” NFL Player

Sometimes a “real world” example is the best way to make a point; and sometimes the world of sports provides the best examples – even if the dollars and cents are anything but “real world.”

Americans for Tax Reform ran some numbers this week and realized Super Bowl winning quarterback Joe Flacco is not the highest “paid” player in the National Football League – as was reported extensively last week when news of his new contract was announced.  You see, there’s a difference between what a player is “paid” and what he actually earns after taxes.  That’s “take-home-pay” to folks like you and me.  And in the case of the Ravens quarterback, the difference amounts to millions of dollars.

While full terms of Flacco’s contract were not made public, it was reportedly worth $120.6 million dollars; or roughly $20.1 million/year.  That makes his FEDERAL tax liability $8.72 million per.  Had Flacco chosen to test free agency and sign with a no-income-tax state like Tennessee, Florida, or Texas; $8.72 million would have been his total tax bill.  But since Flacco chose to stay in Maryland, he must also pay an estimated state income tax bill of $1.74 million.  ATR did the rest of the math for us and points out that because he chose a tax-heavy ready state, he’s not actually the highest earning player in the NFL.

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