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How Much Do These 30 Star Athletes Pay in Taxes?

It’s easy to loath sports stars and their giant salaries, but come tax time, professional athletes pony up a big portion of their proceeds to help keep their local, state and federal governments up and running. In fact, the highest-taxed athletes in sports forfeit half their income or more to their civic duty of paying the government.
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To find out which athletes have the highest tax bills, GOBankingRates used salary data from Spotrac to identify the MLB, NFL and NBA players with the highest salaries, then used its own internal tax calculators to assess the rates and dollar amounts that those athletes paid in state and federal taxes.
Amari Cooper
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
- League: NFL
- Salary: $22,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $8,098,164
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $524,054
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $13,377,782
- Total taxes paid: $8,622,218
- Effective tax rate: 39.19%
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Derek Carr
- Team: Las Vegas Raiders
- League: NFL
- Salary: $22,125,000
- Federal taxes paid: $8,144,414
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $526,991
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $13,453,595
- Total taxes paid: $8,671,405
- Effective tax rate: 39.19%
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DeMarcus Lawrence
- Team: Dallas Cowboys
- League: NFL
- Salary: $25,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $9,208,164
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $594,554
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $15,197,282
- Total taxes paid: $9,802,718
- Effective tax rate: 39.21%
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Russell Wilson
- Team: Seattle Seahawks
- League: NFL
- Salary: $32,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $11,798,165
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $759,054
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $19,442,781
- Total taxes paid: $12,557,219
- Effective tax rate: 39.24%
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Corey Seager
- Team: Texas Rangers
- League: MLB
- Salary: $33,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $12,168,164
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $782,554
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $20,049,282
- Total taxes paid: $12,950,718
- Effective tax rate: 39.24%
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John Wall
- Team: Houston Rockets
- League: NBA
- Salary: $44,310,840
- Federal taxes paid: $16,353,174
- State taxes paid: $0
- FICA taxes paid: $1,048,358
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $26,909,308
- Total taxes paid: $17,401,532
- Effective tax rate: 39.27%
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Ben Roethlisberger
- Team: Pittsburgh Steelers
- League: NFL
- Salary: $25,910,000
- Federal taxes paid: $9,544,864
- State taxes paid: $795,437
- FICA taxes paid: $615,939
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $14,953,760
- Total taxes paid: $10,956,240
- Effective tax rate: 42.29%
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Frank Clark
- Team: Kansas City Chiefs
- League: NFL
- Salary: $25,800,000
- Federal taxes paid: $9,504,164
- State taxes paid: $1,392,340
- FICA taxes paid: $613,354
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $14,290,142
- Total taxes paid: $11,509,858
- Effective tax rate: 44.61%
Nolan Arenado
- Team: St. Louis Cardinals
- League: MLB
- Salary: $35,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $12,908,164
- State taxes paid: $1,889,140
- FICA taxes paid: $829,554
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $19,373,142
- Total taxes paid: $15,626,858
- Effective tax rate: 44.65%
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Matt Ryan
- Team: Atlanta Falcons
- League: NFL
- Salary: $26,912,500
- Federal taxes paid: $9,915,789
- State taxes paid: $1,547,032
- FICA taxes paid: $639,497
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $14,810,182
- Total taxes paid: $12,102,318
- Effective tax rate: 44.97%
Aaron Rodgers
- Team: Green Bay Packers
- League: NFL
- Salary: $27,073,568
- Federal taxes paid: $9,975,384
- State taxes paid: $2,066,248
- FICA taxes paid: $643,282
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $14,388,654
- Total taxes paid: $12,684,914
- Effective tax rate: 46.85%
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Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Team: Milwaukee Bucks
- League: NBA
- Salary: $39,344,900
- Federal taxes paid: $14,515,780
- State taxes paid: $3,005,005
- FICA taxes paid: $931,659
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $20,892,456
- Total taxes paid: $18,452,444
- Effective tax rate: 46.90%
Francisco Lindor
- Team: New York Mets
- League: MLB
- Salary: $34,100,000
- Federal taxes paid: $12,575,164
- State taxes paid: $2,984,398
- FICA taxes paid: $808,404
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $17,732,034
- Total taxes paid: $16,367,966
- Effective tax rate: 48.00%
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Gerrit Cole
- Team: New York Yankees
- League: MLB
- Salary: $36,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $13,278,164
- State taxes paid: $3,151,978
- FICA taxes paid: $853,054
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $18,716,804
- Total taxes paid: $17,283,196
- Effective tax rate: 48.01%
Jacob deGrom
- Team: New York Mets
- League: MLB
- Salary: $36,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $13,278,165
- State taxes paid: $3,151,978
- FICA taxes paid: $853,054
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $18,716,803
- Total taxes paid: $17,283,197
- Effective tax rate: 48.01%
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Kevin Durant
- Team: Brooklyn Nets
- League: NBA
- Salary: $42,018,900
- Federal taxes paid: $15,505,157
- State taxes paid: $3,682,845
- FICA taxes paid: $994,498
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $21,836,400
- Total taxes paid: $20,182,500
- Effective tax rate: 48.03%
Max Scherzer
- Team: New York Mets
- League: MLB
- Salary: $43,333,333
- Federal taxes paid: $15,991,497
- State taxes paid: $3,798,778
- FICA taxes paid: $1,025,387
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $22,517,671
- Total taxes paid: $20,815,662
- Effective tax rate: 48.04%
James Harden
- Team: Brooklyn Nets
- League: NBA
- Salary: $44,310,840
- Federal taxes paid: $16,353,174
- State taxes paid: $3,884,995
- FICA taxes paid: $1,048,358
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $23,024,313
- Total taxes paid: $21,286,527
- Effective tax rate: 48.04%
Stephen Strasburg
- Team: Washington Nationals
- League: MLB
- Salary: $35,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $12,908,165
- State taxes paid: $3,126,902
- FICA taxes paid: $829,554
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $18,135,379
- Total taxes paid: $16,864,621
- Effective tax rate: 48.18%
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Kirk Cousins
- Team: Minnesota Vikings
- League: NFL
- Salary: $31,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $11,428,164
- State taxes paid: $3,047,658
- FICA taxes paid: $735,554
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $15,788,624
- Total taxes paid: $15,211,376
- Effective tax rate: 49.07%
Damian Lillard
- Team: Portland Trail Blazers
- League: NBA
- Salary: $39,344,900
- Federal taxes paid: $14,515,777
- State taxes paid: $3,893,542
- FICA taxes paid: $931,659
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $20,003,922
- Total taxes paid: $19,340,978
- Effective tax rate: 49.16%
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Jimmy Garoppolo
- Team: San Francisco 49ers
- League: NFL
- Salary: $26,400,000
- Federal taxes paid: $9,726,164
- State taxes paid: $3,485,351
- FICA taxes paid: $627,454
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $12,561,031
- Total taxes paid: $13,838,969
- Effective tax rate: 52.42%
Manny Machado
- Team: San Diego Padres
- League: MLB
- Salary: $32,000,000
- Federal taxes paid: $11,798,164
- State taxes paid: $4,230,151
- FICA taxes paid: $759,054
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $15,212,631
- Total taxes paid: $16,787,369
- Effective tax rate: 52.46%
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Anthony Rendon
- Team: Los Angeles Angels
- League: MLB
- Salary: $36,571,428
- Federal taxes paid: $13,489,592
- State taxes paid: $4,838,151
- FICA taxes paid: $866,482
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $17,377,203
- Total taxes paid: $19,194,225
- Effective tax rate: 52.48%
Mike Trout
- Team: Los Angeles Angels
- League: MLB
- Salary: $37,116,666
- Federal taxes paid: $13,691,330
- State taxes paid: $4,910,667
- FICA taxes paid: $879,295
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $17,635,374
- Total taxes paid: $19,481,292
- Effective tax rate: 52.49%
Paul George
- Team: Los Angeles Clippers
- League: NBA
- Salary: $39,344,900
- Federal taxes paid: $14,515,778
- State taxes paid: $5,207,022
- FICA taxes paid: $931,659
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $18,690,441
- Total taxes paid: $20,654,459
- Effective tax rate: 52.50%
Kawhi Leonard
- Team: Los Angeles Clippers
- League: NBA
- Salary: $39,344,900
- Federal taxes paid: $14,515,779
- State taxes paid: $5,207,022
- FICA taxes paid: $931,659
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $18,690,440
- Total taxes paid: $20,654,460
- Effective tax rate: 52.50%
LeBron James
- Team: Los Angeles Lakers
- League: NBA
- Salary: $41,180,544
- Federal taxes paid: $15,194,965
- State taxes paid: $5,451,163
- FICA taxes paid: $974,796
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $19,559,620
- Total taxes paid: $21,620,924
- Effective tax rate: 52.50%
Russell Westbrook
- Team: Los Angeles Lakers
- League: NBA
- Salary: $44,211,146
- Federal taxes paid: $16,316,288
- State taxes paid: $5,854,233
- FICA taxes paid: $1,046,016
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $20,994,609
- Total taxes paid: $23,216,537
- Effective tax rate: 52.51%
Stephen Curry
- Team: Golden State Warriors
- League: NBA
- Salary: $45,780,966
- Federal taxes paid: $16,897,121
- State taxes paid: $6,063,019
- FICA taxes paid: $1,082,906
- Take-home salary (after taxes): $21,737,920
- Total taxes paid: $24,043,046
- Effective tax rate: 52.52%
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Methodology: For this piece, GOBankingRates first sourced the top ten highest-paid players in the NFL, NBA, and MLB and sourced each player’s (1) current or upcoming season’s salary. With these 30 athletes isolated, GOBankingRates then used our in-house federal and state income calculators to find each athlete’s: (2) federal income taxes paid; (3) state income taxes paid; (4) FICA taxes paid; (5) income after taxes; (6) total income taxes paid; and (7) effective tax rate for each athlete. All income tax calculations were made assuming a single filer, filing their taxes in the state in which their team/employer is located. GOBankingRates used 2022 federal tax brackets and standard deductions and 2021 state tax brackets and standard deductions, all sourced from Tax Foundation. All data was collected and is up to date as of December 8, 2021.
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