Jimmy Garoppolo will have zero impact on Super Bowl LII. From a monetary perspective, however, the San Francisco 49ers quarterback still could be the game’s biggest winner.
Even more so than New England Patriots QB Tom Brady.
Thanks to the NFL’s collective bargaining agreement, Garoppolo took home $51,000 — the same as Brady — after the Patriots beat the Jacksonville Jagaurs in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. And, regardless of if the Patriots beat the Philadelphia Eagles in Minneapolis, Garoppolo will earn a bigger Super Bowl paycheck than Brady, Sports Illustrated’s Michael McCann and Robert Raiola reported Thursday.
So, why will a player who was traded from the Patriots make more money than the best player still on the team?
Tax laws, folks. Tax laws.
First of all, NFL players receive bonus money when their teams play in conference championship games and Super Bowls. But the CBA also mandates that players who were active for at least eight games for those same teams are entitled to the same bonus money. So, since Garoppolo was traded to the Niners after Week 8, he has the right to the same bonus money as all current Patriots, who will earn $56,000 if they lose and $112,000 if they win.
Enter Minnesota state income taxes.
“Garoppolo, unlike Brady, will not be travelling to Minnesota and will not be subject to Minnesota’s state income tax of 9.85 percent,” McCann and Raiola wrote. ” … Minnesota law dictates that in the case of an individual who is a nonresident salaried employee of a pro sports team, his income subject to tax in Minnesota shall be determined by taking his total compensation from the team in a year and multiplying that by a fraction in which the numerator is the total of ‘duty days’ in Minnesota and the denominator is the total number of ‘duty days’ worked in that year.
“In other words, each day Brady spends in Minneapolis for the Super Bowl will increase their tax bill to Minnesota. That is not true for Garoppolo.”
Now, some might say that since Garoppolo plays for an NFL team in California — which has a 13.3 percent income tax — he ultimately will pocket less money than Brady. Except, according to McCann and Raiola, Garoppolo likely is a resident of either Illinois or Massachusetts, not California.
Keep making that money, Jimmy G.
