The “Jock Tax”: Fair Play or Unsportsmanlike Conduct

Authors

  • John DiMascio

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2007.78

Abstract

Just as the players of the Seattle Seahawks began to settle into their offseason routines following the 2005 season, April 17 brought an unpleasant reminder of the loss they suffered in Super Bowl XL. Although it may not have set in entirely by then for many of the players, each of them likely realized the exact nature of his loss in Detroit. Of course the loss referred to is not the team’s 21-10 defeat at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rather, it is the income that each player was forced to surrender to the state of Michigan and the city of Detroit in compliance with the “jock tax” levied by those jurisdictions. It has been estimated that Michigan’s 3.4% tax on nonresident athletes cost the Seahawks nearly $300,000 just to play at Ford Field. In addition to that, the city of Detroit imposes its own 1.275% tax on the earnings of the athletes. In the end, Seattle quarterback Matt Hasslebeck was forced to pay out an estimated $10,000 of his salary to a city and state where he has no residence and no affiliation.

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Published

2007-04-26

How to Cite

DiMascio, John. 2007. “The ‘Jock Tax’: Fair Play or Unsportsmanlike Conduct”. University of Pittsburgh Law Review 68 (4). https://doi.org/10.5195/lawreview.2007.78.

Issue

Vol. 68 No. 4 (2007)

Section

Notes

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