Bill Belichick's Patriots dynasty ended on notably frosty terms with the New England front office, limping to a lowly 4-13 record in 2023 as his relationship with owner Robert Kraft continued to sour.
The longtime coach made an appearance on ESPN's Pat McAfee show Monday morning as Belichick expressed another frustration with his time in New England: the state of Massachusetts ' unattractive tax code to potential free agents .
"Oh, yeah. It's Taxachusetts. Yeah. They take more from you. So virtually every player, even a practice squad, but even the minimum players are pretty close to a million dollars," Belichick said. "And so once you hit that million-dollar threshold, then you pay more state tax in Massachusetts. So just another thing you got to contend with in negotiations up there."
Belichick arrived in New England in 2000 and found immediate success, upsetting St. Louis 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI the next season. He would then forge one of the most American dominant sports dynasties ever over the next 17 years, winning an additional five Super Bowl titles while failing to reach 10 wins in just one season.
However, the catalysts for this success came from New England's excellent showings on draft night, including the selections of Tom Brady , Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Ty Law and Vince Wilfork. Conversely, Belichick struggled to attract as many high-profile names through free agency during the latter half of his tenure, which he attributes in part to Massachusetts' tax code, which reaches 4.5 percent for all income over $750,000.
"It's not like Tennessee or Florida or Nevada or some of these teams that have no state income tax," Belichick continued. "So you get hit pretty hard on that with the agents. They'll come and sledgehammer you down about the tax they're paying. We don't get any benefit from that."
Meanwhile, seven NFL franchises play in states with no income tax, which numerous players have highlighted as a factor in negotiations. Star wide receiver Tyreek Hill was nearing an agreement with the New York Jets in 2022 after requesting a trade from Kansas City , ultimately swerving to South Beach after considering the tax burden.
"It was very close to happening, but it was just those state taxes, man," Hill said. "I realized I had to make a grown-up decision and here I am in a great city in Miami . It’s great weather. Great people. Beautiful people. Here I am."
Safety Jordan Poyer joined Hill in Miami this offseason after seven seasons with Buffalo , previously noting similar considerations on a 2023 episode of his podcast. “A lot of people ask me, ‘if it wasn’t Buffalo, then where would you go?” Poyer said.
“I kind of ponder the question every once in a while,” Poyer went on to say, adding that he “would love to go to a state that doesn’t take half my money.”
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