Despite the frequent clamoring to keep politics out of sports, sometimes it’s downright unavoidable.
Take, for instance, the recent “millionaires’ tax” passed in deep-blue Washington state.
On Wednesday, The New York Times reported that Washington had just passed its first-ever income tax, aimed squarely at shaving a few (or more) bucks off the income of the state’s wealthiest individuals.
The mere prospect of this “millionaires’ tax” had already been an issue for the state.
According to CBS News, former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced that he and his wife would be leaving Washington for Florida.
While Schultz didn’t specifically cite the forthcoming tax as the reason for his exodus, he may have been alluding to the policy when he mentioned on LinkedIn that he hoped Washington would “remain a place for business and entrepreneurship to thrive, creating essential opportunity for those in Seattle and the surrounding areas.”
(A similar phenomenon has been occurring in other blue states adopting similar taxation policies, like California.)
But while Schultz may not outright come and sound the alarm on this “millionaires’ tax,” Seattle Seahawks general manager John Schneider had no problem doing so during a radio appearance Thursday.
“There were a bunch of agents texting me the other day like, ‘Hey, can’t use that anymore, buddy,’” Schneider said on his Seattle radio show, per ESPN. “I think it is for all the pro teams here in town.
He noted that the lack of a state income tax has “always been a huge attraction, especially competing with the California teams.”
“So, it’s going to sting, from a recruiting standpoint and what that looks like. I’m sure Mike Reinfeldt and Mickey Loomis and all the cap guys that have been here before, too, are looking at this like, dang,” he added.
“It’s going to sting, no question about it.”
ESPN did report that while Schneider expressed concern with how this new tax would affect Seattle’s free agent prospects, various NFL agents were a little more split on how this tax could potentially impact players.
“It’s going to be a problem and hopefully it doesn’t happen,” one agent told the network.
Another agent said there would be “no chance” he would sign with Seattle if it meant paying nearly 10 percent in taxes on a lucrative new contract.
Other agents noted that their clients still cared most about the raw total dollar-figure attached to the deal, irrespective of taxes, or that there were other factors that could go into a deal.
But while those NFL agents may be split, the issue of taxes has already been a significant factor in the NFL’s fellow sports league, the NBA.
It’s not exactly a secret in the NBA that the Toronto Raptors are not a free agent destination, largely due to having to pay both Canadian and American taxes on their earnings. Conversely, the Miami Heat — who play in income tax-free Florida — has always been a hugely popular free agent destination.
The intersection of sports and culture often yields the most polarizing and divisive rhetoric imaginable.
But in this instance? It’s just a matter of dollars and sense.
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