An NBA Redditor did the math required to prove that Jimmy Butler will keep more from his Heat salary than Kevin Durant from the Nets.
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Taxes are a dicey issue in the US of A. The Biden administration is rumored to be pondering higher tax slabs for the wealthiest of the wealthy. This move is facing pushback from many citizens.
The USA has a twofold income tax – federal and state taxes are collected and accounted for separately. State taxes vary by location, and there’s a fairly wide range of tax rates for the 50 different states.
The differential tax rates mean that while on paper, a Miami athlete might be grossing the same income as one in Los Angeles. But that turns out to not be true when we look at the numbers.
NBA fan calculates taxes for Jimmy Butler and Kevin Durant
There’s little to choose between Miami and New York if you had the option to live in either city. While Miami is a city of vice with some of the best weather in the country, New York is a global metropolis.
Both places have their own attractions, resulting in hordes of big-name free agents going to these cities across sports. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving took the NBA by storm by forming an alliance with the Brooklyn Nets in 2019.
Durant recently signed a 4-year, $198 million contract extension with the NY-based franchise. This corresponds with a similar deal signed by Jimmy Butler with the Heat mid-way through last season.
But it seems that Kevin Durant will end up keeping less of his sanctioned salary from the final year of his deal. Butler, meanwhile, will be able to save over $3.6 million in state income taxes according to this fan’s calculations.
While the numbers seem fine at a cursory glance, the reality is that only Durant and Butler’s accountants know their net income. But it’s nice to be able to speculate about all these multi-million dollar figures. After all, Lionel Messi seems set to sign his final big contract.
