The Packers’ crappy season last year can be attributable to a number of factors – poor tackling, slow linebackers, bad blocking, etc. But do taxes play a role in keeping good talent away from Wisconsin?
In Andrew Brandt’s “Busine$$ of Football” column, he says yes – and specifically calls out Wisconsin for its high tax burden:
The states without income tax, I felt, always had an advantage in recruiting free agent players. Teams in Florida, Tennessee and Texas used the fact that their states had no income tax to show players how much more they would take home than teams in high income tax states (like Wisconsin). In some cases, agents actually showed me data from other teams showing how much more the player would make over the life of the same contract in one of those states. In recruiting players for Green Bay, I would always hear from agents how much more a player would make from, say, the Buccaneers or Texans compared to the 6.6-percent state income tax that Wisconsin would take from Packer players. That and, of course, the weather.
From what I remember, in their early days, both the NBA’s Vancouver Grizzlies and Toronto Raptors had a difficult time attracting free agent talent due to the burdensome Canadian tax load. (And the fact that a player could die waiting in the emergency room to get a sprained ankle looked at.) It makes sense that agents have gotten so sophisticated that they can now dice the numbers up on a state-by-state basis.
So even if you’re not tuned in politically, oppose Jim Doyle’s tax increases to save the Packers.
April 16, 2009 at 4:35 pm
There’s a connection between economic behavior and the level of taxation. Shocker!
April 17, 2009 at 10:00 am
On each of the four Superbowl Sundays featuring the participation of the Packers, were these not days in which a Democrat was president?
April 17, 2009 at 10:28 am
There’s a difference between correlation and causation, “Scot.”
April 17, 2009 at 10:49 am
So I suppose Brett Favre’s horrible performance in the NFC Championship game 2 years ago can also be attributed to taxes, somehow someway?
And if you were a real Packer fan, you’d know that Packer’s management philosophy is to build through the draft rather than attracting talent through free agency.
So at best your wrong. At worst, you’re a poseur.
April 18, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Ever been to Green Bay? In December?
We all know you got a hardon for tax policy, but get serious.
And just how many Super Bowls have Tampa Bay and Houston won– Didn’t tax heaven Houston actually lose a team. And don’t the Patriots play in Taxachussets?
And didn’t Miami lose like 16 games a couple years ago.
You know just because you read something doesn’t mean you have to write about it. SOmetimes it just makes you look stupid.