A couple of dozen former college basketball players will sign multi-million dollar contracts after the NBA Draft in three days. A report from Americans for Tax Reform reminds them Obamacare will take a big chunk out of those new checks even as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius confirmed the administration is lobbying major sports leagues to advocate for Obamacare. The breakdown of taxes played by NBA players as Obamacare is implemented shows Kobe Bryant paying an additional $250,642 in taxes.
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| Player | Salary | Obamacare Medicare Tax |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Bryant | $27,849,149 | $250,642 |
| LeBron James | $17,545,000 | $157,905 |
| Kevin Durant | $16,669,629 | $150,027 |
| Carmelo Anthony | $19,444,503 | $175,001 |
| Derrick Rose | $16,402,500 | $147,623 |
| Kevin Garnett | $11,566,265 | $104,096 |
| Joakim Noah | $11,300,000 | $101,700 |
| Rajon Rondo | $11,000,000 | $99,000 |
| Blake Griffin | $7,226,892 | $65,042 |
| Kyrie Irving | $5,375,760 | $48,382 |
| Tim Duncan | $9,638,554 | $86,747 |
| Josh Smith | $13,200,000 | $118,800 |
| Deron Williams | $17,177,795 | $154,600 |
| Chris Paul | $17,779,458 | $160,015 |
| Dwayne Wade | $17,182,000 | $154,638 |
| Paul Pierce | $16,790,345 | $151,113 |
| Tony Parker | $12,500,000 | $112,500 |
| Jeremy Lin | $8,374,646 | $75,372 |
| Brandon Jennings | $3,179,493 | $28,615 |
| Dirk Nowitzki | $20,907,128 | $188,164 |
The question is whether NBA players and other pro athletes will dare to not go along if their leagues sign up. The “Kennedy effect” of the extremely rich having so much money they do not feel the impact of higher taxes that can destroy a middle class tax budget could lead some athletes to support the higher taxes put on Americans. Some may also fear the criticism that Phil Mickelson faced when he discussed leaving California because of their high state taxes.
The formula used to calculate Obamacare’s Medicare Tax is the player’s Salary x the 0.9 percent Medicare payroll tax rate hike found within Obamacare. Salaries were found at http://espn.go.com/nba/salaries.
Sebelius is quoted by ATR as saying:
“It’s clear that we’re having discussions, active discussions, right now with a variety of sports affiliates – both in terms of what will end up being paid advertising but hopefully some partnership efforts … The NFL for instance, in the conversations that I’ve had, has been very actively and enthusiastically engaged because they see health promotion as one of the things that’s good for them and good for the country.”