Giannis Antetokounmpo is as humorous as they come, and he has dominated the NBA’s ‘dad joke’ space for many years. The Milwaukee Bucks superstar and two-time MVP has discovered a new target: NBA salary taxes.
NBA all star Anthony Davis has made headlines yet again. This time, though, it is not for his $186,000,000 contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, he went viral after Andrew Petcash detailed how AD will lose $38,000,000 in pay cuts due to taxes.
The tweet has gone viral and garnered a lot of attention. In fact, NBA all star Giannis Antetokounmpo responded to Petcash’s tweet with a funny allegation that he had no idea what FICA or the Michael Jordan tax, commonly referred to as the Jock tax, are.
“Who the hell is FICA and Jock, and can they hoop?” NBA all star Giannis joked on social media. The man himself was paid $42.4 million last season and most certainly received less than half of that, so his cheeky frustration is understandable.
According to the original post, despite earning $62 million per year, NBA all star Anthony Davis would only have $24 million left after taxes. Giannis and other NBA all stars and superstars’ dissatisfaction with these issues is understandable given how much they forego in taxes.
In addition, even though the NBA all star asked jokingly, FICA is the term for the federal payroll tax in the United States of America. The Jock Tax is a little more complicated, but in a nutshell, it is the tax that earning individuals pay to other states if they earn money in those states, and it applies to all NBA players. And neither of them can hoop.
NBA Players Makes Less Than Half The Amount They Are Paid As Per Their Contract
Getting paid $200 million or $300 million over four or five million sounds wonderful, but it’s never so simple. NBA players may have to pay more than half of their annual income in taxes and fees depending on where they live and play.
For example, NBA all star Jaylen Brown recently got the largest contract in NBA history, valued over $60 million per year, and will make approximately $24.5 million per year.
Similar breakdowns demonstrate that other NBA all stars such as Nikola Jokic and Tyrese Haliburton are also examples of players not making nearly as much as they are claimed to. It still equates to more than $100 million in five years, which is generational wealth by any standards.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, much like Anthony Davis also pays a lot of taxes
Giannis Antetokounmpo, like Anthony Davis, must pay taxes. On paper, the Greek Freak earned up to $42,492,492 last year. According to GO Banking Rates, the Milwaukee Bucks star’s pay was reduced by 46.80% after taxes, which included federal, state, and FICA.
This means that, despite his contract stating that he makes close to $42,500,000 per year, he actually took home roughly $22,566,310 after taxes.
The fact that Giannis joked about the FICA tax and the Jock tax adds to the silliness of the situation. He’ll most likely have a lengthy discussion with his agent and accountant after this.