On paper, a $100 million contract sounds like a player cashing in a huge amount. But that is not how it works. The headline number is only the starting point before the money reaches the athlete’s bank account; several people and taxes take their share. And before the players know that $100 million starts shrinking.

First come federal, state, and local taxes. Players can also owe taxes in different states where they play road games, often called the jock tax. Then there are payroll taxes, agent fees, financial advisors, and other professional costs. Piece by piece, the $100 million starts getting smaller. Now, let’s break down exactly how much the players get in their hands.

Federal Taxes: The First Massive Cut

Federal tax is money people pay to the U.S. government from the income they earn. For an NFL player, part of their salary, bonuses, or other earnings goes toward federal income tax. In a nutshell, Uncle Sam gets a slice of the pie whenever a player earns money, while the player keeps the rest after taxes.

In 2026, according to the IRS, the highest federal tax rate is 37%, but this does not mean the government takes 37% of the player’s entire contract. Instead, the IRS divides the player’s taxable income into different levels, called tax brackets.

For example, if a person earns a $100 million salary:

1. The first $12,400 is taxed at 10%.
2. The next portion is taxed at 12%.
3. Then other portions are taxed at 22%, 24%, 32%, and 35%.
4. Only the taxable income above $640,600 is taxed at the top rate of 37%.

Payroll taxes are another deduction from an NFL player’s earnings, separate from federal income tax. In 2026, Social Security tax applies to the first $184,500 of wages, while the 2.9% Medicare tax applies to all wages. High earners also pay an extra 0.9% Medicare tax on wages above $200,000 for single filers.

Then there are state taxes, which are different for every player.

State Taxes: The Same Contract Can Produce Different Take-Home Pay

State taxes can greatly affect how much money an athlete gets to keep from their salary. Two players can earn the same amount but take home very different amounts because they play in different states.

According to a Tax Foundation 2024 analysis, two players earning $20 million with the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders will have to pay different taxes. The Cowboys player paid about $233,830 in state and local taxes. A Las Vegas Raiders player paid about $233,259.

The difference becomes much bigger when a player earns more money. At a $50 million salary, a Cowboys player paid about $586,902 in state and local taxes, while a Raiders player paid around $585,366. And Chargers players paid around $2,631,028 on a $20 million salary and $6,621,028 on a $50 million salary.

Let’s take one more example. In 2022, Tyreek Hill left the Kansas City Chiefs and signed a 4-year, $120 million contract with the Miami Dolphins, which paid him about $30 million per year. Florida has no state income tax, so Hill did not have to pay Florida state income tax on his earnings.

However, Hill still had to pay taxes when the Dolphins played games in other states. The Tax Foundation estimated that he would have paid about $474,519 in state and local taxes while playing for Miami. Most of this came from taxes on money earned during road games.

If Hill had signed with the New York Jets, he would have paid much more. The Tax Foundation estimated his state and local tax bill at $3.19 million, including about $2.98 million to New Jersey. That is about $2.7 million more than he would have paid with Miami in one season.

So, even two players’ contracts and tax deductions can differ, even if they earn the same amount. This also means that not having state income tax at home does not mean an NFL player pays zero state taxes overall.

The Jock Tax: Why Athletes Can Pay Taxes Everywhere

1. Jock tax means athletes may have to pay income taxes in different states because they travel for work.
2. Usually, people pay taxes in the state where they live and work. NFL players are different because they travel to many states for games.
3. States use “duty days” to figure out how much of the player’s salary should be taxed in the area they go to play. Duty days can include games, practices, meetings, and other team activities.
4. An NFL player typically has about 200 duty days during a season. If he spends about three duty days in another state for an away game, roughly 1.5% of his salary will go in tax.

Let’s take an example: The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers played their 2025 season opener in São Paulo, Brazil, instead of California. Normally, Chiefs players would have spent about three workdays in California and would have paid California taxes on part of their salary. Because the game was in Brazil, they avoided those California taxes.

The Tax Foundation estimated that the Chiefs players would pay about $1.04 million in Brazilian taxes, but Brazil’s 15% tax rate was lower than their U.S. federal tax rate, so they could get a tax credit. Overall, the players were estimated to save about $287,000 by playing in Brazil instead of California.

Why $100 Million in One League Isn’t the Same as $100 Million in Another

Let’s break down different sports and see how $100 million in one sport differs from another.

NFL

Patrick Mahomes’ $450 million contract with the Chiefs does not mean he received $450 million all at once. The deal lasts 10 years, so the money is paid to him over time through different payments, such as his regular salary, signing bonus, and other bonuses. That’s why the tax doesn’t directly come at $450 million.

MLB

Shohei Ohtani’s $700 million contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers is also paid over many years. He gets just $2 million each year from 2024 to 2033, while the remaining $680 million is paid from 2034 to 2043. Because most of his money is delayed, he does not pay taxes as if he received the full $700 million at once.

NBA

As per NumberBench, an NBA player earning $10 million could keep about $5.8 million with the Miami Heat because Florida has no state income tax, while the same player could keep around $4.8 million with the Los Angeles Lakers because California has higher state taxes.

NHL

The NHL is a little more complicated because its teams are in both Canada and the United States, which have different tax systems. The Canada-U.S. tax treaty has special rules for athletes. For example, if a team gives a player a special payment to convince them to sign a contract, that payment may be taxed at a maximum rate of 15% in the country where the payment comes from.

Then Come the Agent Fees

NFL agents do more than just negotiate contracts. They help players get deals with teams, make important career decisions, and handle problems for them. They also spend a lot of time finding and recruiting new players and working to get the best possible deals for the athletes they represent.

NFL agents can take a percentage of a player’s earnings. ESPN reported that the maximum fee for an NFL agent was 3% of the money the player actually receives. This means the agent does not necessarily get paid the entire fee right away if some of the player’s money is delayed or paid later through bonuses or incentives.

For example, if a player receives $30 million, a 3% agent fee would be $900,000. That leaves the player with $29.1 million before taxes and other expenses. For certain one-year deals, such as franchise-tag or restricted free-agent contracts, the maximum agent fee was 2%.

This is why the contract matters.

The Big Twist: Why Athletes Still Care About Contract Structure

The contract matters because it also decides how the tax amount will be deducted based on the following criteria.

1. Where the athlete plays.
2. Where they live.
3. How signing bonuses are structured.
4. How payments are distributed.
5. Which jurisdictions receive taxing rights.

And Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff’s contract is a perfect example for it. Back in 2019, he signed a four-year deal worth up to $134 million.

But his deal included a $1 million base salary, a $25 million signing bonus, and $57 million guaranteed pay.

The $25 million signing bonus could be treated differently for taxes depending on the contract’s rules. If Goff had to play football to receive the bonus, Pittsburgh could potentially treat it like regular pay and tax part of it. Simply put: The details of the contract matter, don’t you think?

So, a $100 million contract does not mean an athlete gets $100 million in their bank account. The contract may spread the money over several years, and taxes, agent fees, and other expenses can take away a large part of it.