Obama Throws Up Brick for NBA
John Fleming /
NBA owners and players will have to swallow hard if that avid hoops fan, Barack Obama, is elected president and pushes through his tax plan.
It’s not just players like Celtics star Kevin Garnett, the league leader in pay, who’d have to figure on paying more in federal income taxes. In fact, the NBA’s 20 highest-paid stars each would lose, on average, an additional $1.2 million to an Obama administration. And plenty of American players could increase their net incomes by signing with overseas franchises. (Obama and running mate Joe Biden might call that “unpatriotic” and “selfish.”)
Making the connection between Obama’s tax proposals and our favorite pro basketball team is something of a head-scratcher. Many of us don’t ponder income taxes much beyond our W2s.
To get the picture, survey the landscape of the NBA. The past few years saw a quiet exodus of players heading overseas to join pro leagues in Spain, Greece and Russia. Some are Europeans. They play in America for several years, get some money and experience, then return home — often for a healthy pay raise. Nenad Krstic, a 7-foot center, averaged 11.3 points a game with the New Jersey Nets. He signed a one-year deal for $9 million to play for Triumph Moscow. Not bad for a guy who earned a total of $4.9 million in four years with the NBA.
Because these players aren’t superstars, the departures make little news outside their NBA cities or on the ESPN news crawl. The loss of American-born NBA veterans — former Atlanta Hawks guard Josh Childress and journeyman Earl Boykins accepted lucrative offers to play in Europe — raises few eyebrows. Yet other nations exhibit a growing appetite for basketball. And like their American counterparts, foreign franchises will pay big money to win championships.
Obama’s tax plan, like John McCain’s, is pretty well documented. The Illinois Democrat says he’d raise income taxes only for “rich” families earning more than $250,000 a year and individuals earning more than $200,000. (McCain pledges not to rescind the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts for anyone.)
Obama’s $200,000 trigger would target every NBA player under a full-season contract. They all earn more than twice that, since the league’s minimum salary for rookies tops $442,000. The biggest earners certainly may be called rich. They’re led by Garnett, who enjoys a $24.8 million salary for the 2008-09 season. The average NBA salary is $5.3 million.
Players know they’re in the top tax bracket, so maybe they accept that an Obama administration would raise their taxes. Just how hefty would those increases be, if a President Obama got his way? (more…)