The New York Knicks ended their championship drought after 53 years. Franchise owner James Dolan asked for sacrifice in April, and the players delivered. The billionaire owner has promised a special gift for family members. Amid this, the reality of the NBA check settles in. No player receives 100% of the amount, as they have to pay a plethora of taxes. It’s the same case with the bonus.

This year, the prize pool for the Finals winner was $9,078,000. Plus, there are bonuses for teams per round as they advance further in the playoffs. So, the Knicks earned closer to $11,126,000 only from playoff bonuses. It’s the sum of $481K First Round + $586K Semifinals + $980K Conference Finals + $9.078M Finals Win. So, the players individually earn $770,000.

“A $770,000 NBA championship bonus will be regarded as ordinary income for players, which means it is subject to standard federal, state, and local taxation, as well as ‘jock taxes.'”

So, the combined marginal tax breakdown includes Federal Income Tax close to 37.00%; Medicare Contributions roughly 2.35%; and then the State and local taxes can also vary from 0 percent in some jurisdictions to as much as 14 percent in states like New York. So, the players are expected to retain between $350,000 and $450,000. Thus, unfortunately, bonuses will be factored for lower-earning rostered players like Jeremy Sochan and Jose Alvarado.

Jeremy Sochan has the lowest salary on the team for players not on two-way deals, clocking in at $806,000. Mohamed Diawara makes $1.3 million, and Jose Alvarado makes $1.7 million. The deductions definitely hurt the pockets, but thankfully the Knicks also won the NBA Cup in December, where the players and head coach Mike Brown will receive $530,000 in prize money.

Back then, Captain Brunson, Josh Hart, and others among the highest-paid players were skimming off NBA Cup prize money to reward Knicks support staff members.

“Some of those people don’t get a bonus, and they’re working to make sure we’re at the top of the game, no matter who they are. We want to make sure those people are also compensated for their extra time and their efforts.” Hart mentioned the massage therapists and PR staff members as recipients of the NBA Cup bonus: “We’re compiling that list together now.”

James Dolan sets rewards for Knicks stars

The hunger to end the drought was visible when Dolan refused to hang the NBA Cup banner. Instead, in January, he vowed to hang the championship banner, which now has come true. To keep on his promise, the billionaire owner even visited the team and asked them to sacrifice. Avoid media interaction and any other distraction. He even joked about ‘no fornication’ rule like the Spartans, where the partners of the players will also receive a gift from the franchise.

“I will buy a ring for each one of your significant others because their contribution is going to be very important to this team win,” said Dolan before the April 3 shootaround. “And we and you know if you don’t have a significant other most of you do find someone that you that is sharing this journey with you for the next 10 weeks and make that person come with you guys right and we’ll give that person a ring.”

Usually, the ring is reserved for players, front office, and coaching staff. While some franchises design another set of rings for part-time workers. Now Dolan has promised rings for the partners of the Knicks’ stars.