That's true, I hadn't considered taxes. I'd be very surprised to find out that NFL players are getting a W-2. Most likely they're all incorporated so they can claim all sorts of stuff as business expenses which would get their tax rate way below 50%. But you're right, it's probably more like $45-50k instead of $60k.

Still though, the median household income is in the $50ks. The 4% withdrawal rate means the base amount still grows with inflation, and so does your yearly withdrawal.

In other words, you can live a middle class life without ever working again. I would probably prefer to live a better lifestyle if that were an option. Sure, $1+ million isn't "fuck you" money, but it is "don't have to work ever again" money.

Players are employees of the teams they play for. It’s very hard even for high income employees to reduce their tax liability. Even Tim Cook pays about 50% taxes on his bonuses.

The median household income thing is also misleading. People earn much more with age. $30k is a good income for a 25-year old. It's in the bottom third for people above age 35. (It's even worse if you consider only college graduates, which NFL players almost all are.)

> Players are employees of the teams they play for.

Are you sure about that? I was under the impression that they were all contractors.

It's a little harder perhaps for Tim Cook to finagle his state of residency compared to a person that travels for a living. Most of these people are not paying NYC income tax. In fact, I'd be surprised if they couldn't establish residency in states without an income tax at all. This 'pro sports tax advice' site specifically and vaguely hints at controlling your state of residency. http://www.prosportstax.com/Images/Attachments/rn4b61f78e0a8...

Also worth noting the NFL has a 2:1 match up to $10k/yr. So every year you put $10k into your NFL 401k the NFL gives you $20k in tax free income.

A quick google search didn't give me a good indication of what the royalties are to low end pro athletes. I would not be surprised if the after tax on those is greater than the taxes on their traditional income.

It's worth noting that when athletes travel for games they have to pay state (and sometimes city) taxes for the cities they travel to which means their state of residency matters less than you might think.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jock_tax