Remember, kids: There's no TEAM in BRAND.

From Davis' perspective, he is making about $5 million this season. (Cap figure is 7-something but that includes the proration of the long-ago signing bonus.)

That's $5 million for six months' work. To earn another $200,000, he has to be at the team facility for another three months.

Would anyone here be beholden to their employer for three months more than you have to, all to get a 4 percent bump in pay?

--Another thing that could be in play, and I think it is in Davis' case but I know it is in other player's cases, is the residency requirement, particularly in Florida. To get that 0 percent state income tax, you have to actually live there for six months of the year. That's basically the whole off-season. If he has an attendance-based workout bonus that he earns in California, or if there are media reports of him being there, he can lose that resident status. The difference is between 0 percent and roughly 10 percent on the relevant income, which is a large portion of it in the NFL where there's so much money tied to bonuses instead of game checks.

I'm not sure of Davis' residency status, but I think he has a home in Florida ... and if that's a consideration at all, residency in a tax-haven state would probably mean more to the bottom line than a highly taxable $200,000 workout bonus.

 

Close, but sort of flipped on how the state tax laws work. States with an income tax can tax 100% of the income of its residents and can tax income earned within its borders by nonresidents. Many of the income tax states (possibly all by now) include within the definition of a resident someone who spends six months, 182 days, 183 days - exact wording depends on state (some states have an in-state presence rule along with having a "permanent abode" in the state). So, for example, if someone is in the State of New York and has a permanent abode in the State, NY can tax all of that person's income, even if it is earned, in part, for services performed in other states. If someone is in the State less than that time (and isn't a domiciliary, which is an issue of its own), the only income NY can tax is for services performed in NY. There is no requirement that the rest of the time be spent in one state or even in the U.S. The states look only at activities within their borders.

All this day counting is irrelevant in Florida which has no income tax, not a $0 rate tax for residents, so can't impose one on anybody, resident or nonresident.

 

OK, so ... if Davis spends six months plus a day in Florida, and the 49ers owe him a $500,000 bonus, he gets the benefits of that, right? (which would be a roughly $50,000 savings on the state tax)

Also if he has other business interests (such as this thing with Fantex), he would absolutely want to stay on the good side of six months for that.

 

What? Didn't Amy just say it has nothing to do with how long he's in Florida? That money would be earned in California so it would be taxed by California no matter where he lives, right? And if he doesn't show up for the workouts he doesn't get anything at all.

 

I don't know if the bonuses are considered earned in California. I thought bonus income was different. But, OK, if I'm wrong on that, I retract it and return to my initial point that he makes $5 million for six months' work and would have had to be somewhere he didn't want to be for another three months, for a 4 percent pay bump. Doesn't make a lot of sense.

 

Yeah, it's pretty clear there is no real compelling reason for him to show up for dumb-ass OTAs.

 

He would want to be domiciled in Florida (domicile is subjectively where one's home is located, determined by all sorts of objective factors) and not be in any one state with an income tax more than six months. Under those facts, each income tax state could tax only the income earned within that state and no state would tax all of his income (from whatever source). I think most states have special rules for allocating income for athletes/entertainers. I don't remember how bonuses are treated.

 

I don't care about OTAs.
I just hate to hear athletes talking themselves up as brands.

 

I'm no fan of Vernon Davis "branding" himself, but moreover, I don't know how anybody can say with any level of confidence that OTAs are of no use to a player or the coaching staff. How do you know that if you aren't inside the program?

 

Would you rather spend June hanging around sweaty 300-pound men ... or being in a fashion show?

 

Why I'm Holding Out, by Vernon Davis

http://mmqb.si.com/2014/06/16/vernon-davis-monday-morning-quarterback/

In 2010 I signed a five-year, $37 million contract extension with $23 million guaranteed. It was the biggest contract for a tight end in league history. Four years later, and I’m playing at a higher level than I was then, which brings me to why I’m holding out. It’s all about getting paid what you deserve. It’s not that complicated. I want the 49ers to win the Super Bowl, and I want to be on the field this summer working toward that goal, but I have to worry about my future first.

Personally I hold NFL players in an entirely different category from others on these. Between the physical punishment and the non-guaranteed contracts, I say get what you can while you can for as long as you can.

 

Players should be obligated to honor their five-year contracts just as much as owners.