Seahawks GM John Schneider says WA high-earners tax will ‘affect us’
PHOENIX — On the day that Gov. Bob Ferguson signed a high-earners income tax into law, Seahawks general manager John Schneider reiterated that it could make life more difficult for the state’s professional sports teams.
“It’s going to affect us,” Schneider said during a session with reporters at the NFL league meetings here Monday. “It’s going to affect all the sports teams, for sure.”
The law would enact a 9.9% levy on earnings of more than $1 million starting in 2028 with the first payments due in 2029. The law is expected to be met with lawsuits and ballot challenges.
With the average NFL salary in 2025 standing at about $5.2 million, according to SI.com, every Seahawk could be affected.
Schneider first made his stance on the law evident earlier this month during an appearance on Seattle Sports 710 when he said not having a state income tax has been “a huge” advantage.
Washington is one of nine states that has not had a state income tax and according to a recent ESPN story, the Seahawks have been one of eight NFL teams playing in states without an income tax, the others being the Las Vegas Raiders, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Tennessee Titans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and Jacksonville Jaguars.
“All the pro teams here in town, it’s always been a huge attraction, especially competing with the California teams (which does have a state income tax),” Schneider said on Seattle Sports 710 earlier this month. “It’s been a big deal for us. So yeah, it’s going to sting from a recruiting standpoint.”
Just how much of a factor it would be in signing free agents, remains in question, as well as how much it would impact the team on the field.
Of the other teams in states with no tax, only Tampa Bay has won a Super Bowl this century.
A recent ESPN story cited several anonymous agents as offering conflicting opinions on whether the presence of a state income tax matters when it comes to free agent negotiations (it would not impact signing draft picks, who get standard four-year contracts with salaries determined by their draft order).
One agent told ESPN that not having a state income tax is “a bonus” but “doesn’t tend to be a deciding factor” and that “the ones in position to command big money in free agency will still opt for the best deals.”
Former sports agent Joey Corry, who writes about NFL financial issues for CBSSports.com, once wrote that: “When I was an agent, state income tax ramifications were a factor when evaluating contract offers, particularly with extremely lucrative ones.”
At least one recent Seahawks free agent signee, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, mentioned it as a factor when he signed with Seattle in 2024 instead of the San Francisco 49ers.
“I wanted to go to a contender; I wanted to go to a bigger market,” Jenkins said in May, 2024. “I felt like Seattle was the perfect place. Plenty of opportunity. I’m going into a team with a head coach that’s defensive-minded and quite frankly out of San Francisco and Seattle, the taxes as well. So I had to think about that.”
Jenkins, who signed a two-year contract worth up to $12 million, was cut in March of 2025 after being paid $6.52 million by the Seahawks.