📰 Paychecks in the News

Everyone knows what they earn.
Almost nobody knows what they keep.

We go behind the headline numbers — showing the federal taxes, state taxes, and what each dollar really means in context.

🔥 Trending Now
🏀 NBA · Traded Today
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Giannis Antetokounmpo — Heat
~$4.46M tax savings
Twelve years in Milwaukee, ended by a trade to Miami. On his $58.46M salary, moving from Wisconsin's 7.65% top rate to Florida's 0% saves him roughly $4.46M this season alone — before the $275M extension.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 NBA · Signed Today
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Austin Reaves — Lakers
$185M record deal
Undrafted in 2021. $185M max contract signed today — the richest deal in NBA history for an undrafted player. After California's 13.3%, he keeps ~$19.6M in Year 1. The state alone takes $5.4M.
Read the Breakdown →
🎬 Spider-Man · Jul 31
🕸️
Tom Holland vs. Zendaya
$18M pay gap
Same film. He earns ~$25M. She earns ~$6.5M. After California's 13.3%, Holland keeps ~$11.9M and Zendaya keeps ~$3.1M — but Zendaya's full income (Euphoria + endorsements) tells a very different story.
Read the Breakdown →
⚽ World Cup · Live Now
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2026 FIFA World Cup
$871M prize pool
Champions get $50M — but that goes to the federation first. After squad splits and taxes in each player's home country, each winning player keeps roughly $420K–$507K. Plus: why Ronaldo earns his share in 22 hours.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 NBA Draft · #1 Pick
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AJ Dybantsa — Wizards
$67M rookie record
First Massachusetts player drafted #1 since Patrick Ewing. His record $67M deal hits DC's brutal 10.75% tax rate. He keeps roughly 50 cents on every dollar — here's the jock tax breakdown too.
Read the Breakdown →
🏆 WWE · Just Now
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Sami Zayn — WWE Champion
~$2.16M take-home
10 years. One night in Saudi Arabia. After pinning Cody Rhodes for the Undisputed WWE title, here's what the new champion actually keeps — federal taxes, the Saudi bonus, and why most WWE stars live in Florida.
Read the Breakdown →
● Live Breakdowns
🎟️ Lottery
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Powerball Winner Take-Home
$378M kept
A $1 billion jackpot becomes $600M in cash, then taxes take another $222M. See the full 50-state breakdown — and what $378 million actually looks like in the real world.
Read the Breakdown →
🎤 Music
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Michael Jackson
~$435M kept
$750M+ career earnings across Thriller royalties, three world tours, and the Beatles catalog — but tax rates swung from 61% in 1982 to just 37% in 1988. Full career breakdown, 2025 biopic edition.
Read the Breakdown →
⚾ Baseball
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Shohei Ohtani
~$348M kept
$700M — the largest contract in sports history. But he only takes $2M/year now, deferring $680M to retirement. The reason why is worth up to $90 million in avoided California taxes.
Read the Breakdown →
🎬 Biopic
🎭
Jaafar Jackson
~$1.6M kept
He spent a year learning the moonwalk to play his uncle Michael. A first-time lead in a $150M+ film earns $1–5M — and California takes 13.3% before he sees a dollar. Plus: the Jackson family tax rate across three generations.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 Sports
🏀
Michael Jordan
$1.8B+ career
NBA salary, six championships, Space Jam, and a Nike deal worth $1.3B lifetime. What did the GOAT actually keep after Illinois and federal taxes?
Coming Soon
🎤 Music
🎤
Taylor Swift
~$824M kept
$2.077 billion — the highest-grossing concert tour in history. The most valuable decision she made wasn't the Eras Tour. It was living in Tennessee.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 Sports
👑
LeBron James
$500M+ career
From Cleveland (Ohio) to Miami (no state tax) to Los Angeles (California's 13.3%). His state choices cost — or saved — him tens of millions.
Coming Soon
⛳ Sports
⛳
Tiger Woods
$1.7B+ career
Golf's first billionaire athlete, Florida resident since 1996. How much did the state move save him, and what did his peak Nike deal really net?
Coming Soon
🎬 Film
🎬
Curry Barker
$224M box office
26-year-old ex-YouTuber made Obsession for $750k, sold it at TIFF for $14M (a record), grossed $224M+. A studio offered $10M for his next film. In California, about half goes to taxes.
Read the Breakdown →
⛹️ NBA
⛹️
Walker Kessler
$140M offer
The Jazz offered $140M. He wants significantly more. After federal taxes and Utah's 4.65% rate, the real gap is $33.5M — not $60M. Full three-scenario breakdown of the standoff.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 NBA · Lakers
🏀
Austin Reaves
~$19.6M Year 1
Undrafted in 2021. The largest contract ever for an undrafted NBA player — $185M with the Lakers. After California's 13.3%, he keeps roughly $19.6M in Year 1 and ~$87.9M over 4 years. The state alone takes $24.2M.
Read the Breakdown →
⚽ FIFA World Cup
🏆
2026 FIFA World Cup
$871M prize pool
Champions split $50M — after federation cuts and taxes, each winning player keeps roughly $420K–$507K. Why Ronaldo earns his entire winning share in under 22 hours. Plus the endorsement multiplier that dwarfs the prize money.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 2026 NBA Draft — Top Picks After Taxes
🏀 NBA Draft
🏀
AJ Dybantsa — #1 Pick
~$7.5M Year 1
The first Massachusetts player drafted #1 since Patrick Ewing. His record $67M rookie deal with the Washington Wizards hits DC's brutal 10.75% income tax. He keeps roughly 50 cents on every dollar.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 NBA Draft
🏀
Darryn Peterson — #2 Pick
~$7.9M Year 1
Canton, Ohio native lands in Utah — one of the best tax environments in the NBA. Utah's 4.65% flat rate saves Peterson $900K+ per year vs. DC and $1.2M vs. California. Full jock tax breakdown included.
Read the Breakdown →
🏀 NBA Draft
🏀
Cameron Boozer — #3 Pick
~$8.15M Year 1
Carlos Boozer's son — Naismith Award winner, Duke freshman phenom — lands in Tennessee. Zero state income tax. He keeps more of his ~$55M rookie deal than any other top-3 pick, despite the lowest total contract.
Read the Breakdown →
🎬 Hollywood
🎬 Spider-Man
🕸️
Tom Holland vs. Zendaya
$18M pay gap
Same film. He earns ~$25M. She earns ~$6.5M. After California's brutal 13.3% tax, Holland keeps ~$11.9M and Zendaya keeps ~$3.1M — but Zendaya's full income (Euphoria + endorsements) tells a very different story.
Read the Breakdown →
💡

The number you hear is never the number they keep

A $1B lottery jackpot pays out $600M in cash. A $33M NBA contract in California nets roughly $17M. Federal taxes, state taxes, and the difference between California (13.3%) and Texas (0%) can mean $80 million on a single deal. These pages show the math.

Calculate Your Own Take-Home

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US Annual Salary
All 50 states, any income
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Paycheck Calculator
Per paycheck breakdown
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Salary After Taxes Hub
$25k to $5M breakdowns
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$1M Salary
What a million-dollar earner keeps
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Bonus Tax Calculator
Supplemental withholding rate
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All State Calculators
See why state choice matters

All celebrity and lottery earnings figures are estimates based on publicly reported data, Forbes research, and industry analyses. Actual figures are private. Not financial or legal advice.