Nick Bosa’s yearly earnings surpass any other defensive player in NFL history. And he looks set to take home even more.
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In 2023, Bosa signed a five-year, $170 million extension with the San Francisco 49ers. Breaking it down, that represents a yearly value of $34 million, a total guaranteed money of $122.5 million, and last but not the least, $88 million guaranteed money at signing. The numbers are astronomical, and a NFL record for a defender.
Understandably, the tax load has also been heavy on Bosa. He ends up keeping less than half of the $34 million salary each year. However, that could be changing soon.
President-Elect Donald Trump is yet to step into the Oval Office. But there are speculations and theories abound on what all he would do when he gets there.
There is a possibility that Trump might nix the federal income tax. That would end up allowing the richest of the rich to retain a larger percentage of their earnings.
Needless to say, such a move would affect millions of Americans. And Professional athletes, including NFL players such as Bosa, have valid reasons to be happy about it.
Currently, Bosa retains about $16.3 million from the $34 million salary. The rest he pays as tax with the second-largest chunk going to the federal income tax. That’s $12.5 million in Bosa’s case.
Andrew Petcash worked out a full breakdown of the tax structure here:
Nick Bosa just became the highest-paid defensive player in NFL history (5 years, $170M).
Here’s how much he will actually earn:
$34M: Salary
–
$12.5M: Federal Tax
$2.2M: Cali Tax
$1M: Agent Fee
$1M: Jock Tax
$797k: FICA/Medicare
=
$16.3M: Net Income pic.twitter.com/326lU1E6IV— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) September 7, 2023
The federal, state and Jock tax cost Bosa $15.7 million a year. That’s 46 percent of Bosa’s salary. He would love to see the taxes come down.
And, when Trump takes office in January, Bosa, who has been a vocal “MAGA” supporter, will hope this speculation becomes a reality. Many in the NFL would be hoping so too.
Bosa and the NFL players will save $2.9 billion with no Federal income tax
Bosa stands to save $12.58 million if Trump abolishes the federal income tax. The NFL players as a whole would end up saving approximately $2.9 billion, estimates Petcash. Other athletes, across the various professional leagues, would save billions, too.
And, it gets better for those who earn more. The math is simple: if the tax is removed, everyone gets to keep a higher percentage of their salary. So, if you make more, you’ll save more.
Here’s the TOTAL INCOME athletes will save across the top leagues: pic.twitter.com/r33M4lNOnt
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) November 12, 2024
Much like Bosa, CeeDee Lamb, who recently signed the second-largest WR contract ever — a four-year, $136 million deal — stands to gain a lot too.
Lamb plays in the state of Texas for the Dallas Cowboys. With the absence of state income tax, he already saves $1-2 million a year. Right now, he pays $12.6 million a year in federal income tax, and gets to take home $18.6 million. Without the Federal tax, he would keep $31.2 million, a massive 91.7 percent of his salary.
Similarly, Buffalo Bills star QB Josh Allen could end up keeping 86.4 percent of his income. He earns $43 million a year. A bargain deal, one would imagine, for a player of his caliber. His tax load right now is under $15.9 million in federal and $3.2 million in state taxes. And Allen takes home less than 50 percent of his salary.
Speculations and estimations can be put on hold for now though. The actual likelihood of Trump taking such a drastic measure is still small. But NFLers would still hope, and can certainly dream.
