Training camps are an integral part of a professional athlete’s career. Playing at the highest levels in the sport means being in tip-top shape and ready for the challenges ahead when game day arrives. But did you know that training camps can end up being incredibly costly for the athletes involved?
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Athlete Training Camps and Taxes
How Training Camps and Taxes Are Related
Training camps are a relatively long process that extends well past a game’s length (around 20 days) which doesn’t do any favors when it comes to finances. Athletes are taxed based on the number of days they have been in a state as well as the “duty days”. Since training camp is done in one location for a little under a month, it adds up to a considerable amount of money being taken out when tax season comes around.
You might have guessed that training camp counts as duty days, and you would be right! Which ends up being an issue for the athletes who are not training in one of the four states that do not impose a jock tax: Texas, Florida, Tennessee, and Washington. You can learn more about the “Jock Tax” in this article we previously wrote.
Training Camp in California Is Costly
California may be a beautiful state, but its taxes are the bane of a professional athlete’s existence. Sporting the highest taxes in the country at 13.3%, players during training camp are paying a very heavy price. One of the more infamous examples of how California tax laws affect athletes, is regarding the Dallas Cowboys hosting a training camp there each season.
Instead of staying in Texas during training camp, which would save the team a large amount of money, Dallas travels to California during this time of the season for training camp. The disparities are attributed to the state of Texas not imposing any income tax, while California charges the highest in the Nation. There are multiple reasons why this decision is controversial. For one, the expenses of travel, renting out hotel rooms and heading back in a relatively short span of time quickly adds up. But what really comes as a shock is how much the players end up paying in taxes for their time in training.
Short Time, Big Numbers
Because taxes scale with your income, professional athletes are taxed with large numbers, especially in California. To give an example of these shocking numbers: Tyron Smith who is the highest-paid player on the Dallas team paid $177,000 in taxes for his time spent in training camp. An additional example is Amari Cooper, another Dallas player also paid $158,000 in taxes for this time. For average people, that’s a lot of money. It is enough for even a multi-million-dollar NFL star, let alone an amateur player or team.
It’s easy to see why there would be disapproval of this decision by the Dallas Cowboy’s coach. At the end of the day, it is a great example of how the financial life of a traveling professional athlete plays out. It is an entirely different tax season than what most people experience!
Get the Right Financial Guidance
In the same manner in which the NFL Players Association held a personal finance camp for their athletes, let Moore Business Management Group Inc. guide and teach you some of the skills of the trade that will save you thousands of dollars each year. With over a decade experience in the intricacies of the athletic field, our team of professionals will guide you to the best solution possible based on your own individual scenario. No two athletes are alike, and neither are your tax burdens.
Contact us at (619) 430-2780 for more information or leave us a message on our contact page
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Categories: Athlete Taxes, Taxes
