If there is a better redemption story than Sam Darnold´s in the NFL over the last few years, or decades I haven’t heard of it. He went from being discarded by team after team until he landed in Seattle and won a Super Bowl in his first season as a Seahawk.

Cali´s ridiculous “jock tax”

There is no doubt, after all he has been through, that this is one of the best moments of his life. It also may be the most costly one. If you haven’t heard about it yet, be warned, this story is going to piss you off.

Sam Darnold helped lead his team to the Super Bowl and beat the New England Patriots on Sunday from Santa Clara, California. That’s good news. On top of winning his first Lombardi Trophy, he earned a $178,000 bonus check. That’s even better news. The horrendous news, is that the bonus is actually going to end up costing him money and here’s why.

Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback broke down the way it works in California and how something called a “jock tax” is going to cost Darnold money for winning the Super Bowl. “For winning the Super Bowl, the winning team — each player gets $178,000,” said Esaison. “In other words, the Super Bowl isn’t a part of their salary. And because the game was played in California, and California has a jock tax, they look at duty days. Each team spends seven days in the state, and they tax your regular salary at 3.5 percent.”

Repeat next year will cost Darnold more

Esaison went on to say, “So when you take into account the $178,000 bonus plus his regular salary, he ends up paying the state of California about $249,000 for those seven days.” So when you do the math, he is set to lose $71,000.

Darnold signed a three year, $100.5 million dollar deal after leaving the Minnesota Vikings last offseason and signing with the Seattle Seahawks. Obviously, after signing that contract he can afford to shell out some cash, but that’s not the point. This is supposed to be the happiest moment of his life, but instead he is going to pay the state of California because he won the Super Bowl.

It’s a ridiculous rule that has come to light over the last couple days. While nothing is going to dampen his mood, it is going to make his wallet a little lighter. The worse news for Darnold, is if the Seahawks do make an improbable back to back run and win two starting Super Bowls, next year’s title game in in SoFi Stadium in LA which means he will be paying that tax again.

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