Taxachusetts. The New England Patriots obviously haven't been the same since losing Tom Brady back in 2020. After their Hall of Fame quarterback left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Patriots have only had one winning season and have yet to win another AFC East title. They did make the playoffs in 2021, but ended up getting bounced in the first round of the playoffs. Obviously those results don't really sit well with Pats fans, who are spoiled from the incredible run with Brady and coach Bill Belichick that saw the team win six Super Bowls in 18 years. The Patriots fired Belichick at the end of the 2023 season after a mediocre 4-13 season that saw the team finish last in offense in the entire NFL, a far cry from the dynasty that the Patriots once were. But according to Belichick, it's not just losing Brady that's making it harder for the team to compete: It's also the taxes in Massachusetts. In 2022, the state approved a 4% tax on income above $1 million, putting the top income tax bracket in Massachusetts at 9%, which is the 7th highest in the country. (It's no surprise that New York is first, with Oregon and California close behind). And the former Patriots coach says this has become a sticking point in negotiations as the team tries to attract top players. He discussed the factors that come into play during an appearance on the
Pat McAfee Show yesterday:
"That's a decision you have to make as a player. You want to try to get as much as you can from the team you want to be with. If you're already on the team, how much is it really worth by the time you move, pay your 50% tax or your millionaire's tax in New England, you got that one too, what's really the differential?" Belichick also pointed out that there are states that don't have income tax, so it can become a factor in how much players are willing to accept when deciding between teams in those states. (Also another reason I love living in Nashville - no state income tax in Tennessee).
"That's Taxachusetts. They take more from you. Virtually every player, even the minimum players, are pretty close to $1 million. So once you hit that $1 million threshold then you pay more state tax in Massachusetts. Just another thing you gotta contend with in the negotiations with up there. It's not like Tennessee or Florida or Nevada or some of these teams that have no state income tax. You get hit pretty hard on that with the agents, they'll come and sledgehammer you down about extra tax they're paying. We don't get any benefit from that." As McAfee pointed out, that extra tax could be a few hundred thousand dollars to a player, and could make a difference when a player makes his decision on where to sign. He also jokingly (but not really) questioned where all that extra money collected by the state was going:
"We all want to pay our fair share. Where's it going? I would like to learn that. But we'll stay away from that." Yeah, I think we'd all like to learn that. But all Belichick knows is that it's making it harder for the Patriots to sign the players they want. https://twitter.com/PatMcAfeeShow/status/1828124944187728218
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