How California’s ‘jock tax’ cost Sam Darnold nearly $250K after Super Bowl win

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold celebrated one of the biggest moments of his career when his team captured the Super Bowl LX title in Santa Clara, California. But while the victory will be remembered forever, the financial payoff may not feel quite as sweet.

Despite earning a $178,000 winner’s bonus for the Super Bowl victory, Darnold will owe much more than that to the State of California (an estimated $249,000) in state income tax. In other words, the quarterback stands to lose roughly $71,000 net simply because the game was played in a state with one of the highest tax rates in the country.

What is the jock tax?

The jock tax isn’t a special surcharge just for athletes, it's the term used to describe ordinary income tax applied to non-resident professionals who earn money while working in another state. In football’s case, that includes game bonuses, salaries and other earnings tied to performing on the field.



States count a player’s “duty days,” meaning every day spent playing, practising, travelling, attending team meetings and fulfilling media obligations in that state counts toward tax liability. For Super Bowl LX, players and staff arrived in California days before the game, logging at least eight duty days in the Golden State. That gave California the right to tax a portion of each player’s income as if it had been earned there.

California’s top marginal income tax rate of 13.3% which is among the highest in the United States applies to this prorated income. When that hefty rate is multiplied by Darnold’s total earnings for the season (not just his Super Bowl bonus), the state tax bill quickly balloons into six figures.

Why the tax amount was so big

The unusual twist for Darnold is that California doesn’t just tax the $178,000 bonus, it taxes a share of his full income based on the percentage of duty days spent in the state. That means even though most of his salary was earned outside California, the state still claimed a slice of his annual pay because he worked there during Super Bowl week.

Experts say this unique formula is why players can sometimes pay more in taxes than they receive in bonus money, which is a surprising consequence for many professional athletes. While Darnold’s case drew the most attention because of his high profile, jock taxes affect all visiting players. Under current rules, any NFL player earning money in a different state must file a return there.

For many athletes, winning a Super Bowl is the pinnacle of a career and for Darnold, the memories will last a lifetime. But when April rolls around and tax returns are filed, he’ll be reminded that even sports glory can come with a costly price tag in states with high income tax.



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