The Seattle Seahawks cruised to a convincing Super Bowl victory on Sunday, overpowering the New England Patriots 29–13 to claim the Lombardi Trophy. The win was fueled by a dominant defensive showing, a mistake-free performance from quarterback Sam Darnold, and several explosive plays by running back Kenneth Walker, who earned Super Bowl MVP honors.
Normally, a Super Bowl win comes with a significant financial reward for players, including a sizable bonus on top of their regular salary. On the surface, it would seem like Darnold had every reason to celebrate both on and off the field.
However, playing the game in California came with an unexpected financial downside.
Despite winning the championship, Darnold reportedly lost approximately $249,000 due to California’s so-called “jock tax.” This tax is calculated based on “duty days,” which account for the amount of time an athlete spends working in a particular state. In this case, Darnold and the Seahawks spent seven days in California leading up to and including the Super Bowl.
Former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason explained how the math works. Each player on the winning team receives a Super Bowl bonus of $178,000, which is separate from their standard salary. Because the game was played in California, the state applies its jock tax to a portion of the player’s regular income, taxing it at roughly 3.5 percent based on the number of duty days spent there.
When Darnold’s Super Bowl bonus is combined with his regular salary and then taxed accordingly, his total payment to the state of California for that one week came out to about $249,000—meaning he actually lost money despite winning the sport’s biggest prize.
While other states such as Ohio, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey also enforce jock taxes, California’s rate is significantly higher than the rest. Because of this, Esiason argued that the NFL Players Association should strongly oppose holding future Super Bowls in the state.
He suggested that the financial burden placed on players makes California an unfair host, even going so far as to say the league should refuse to stage any more Super Bowls there.
That stance, however, may be difficult to enforce, as Super Bowl 61 is already scheduled to take place next February at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
