Shaq Barrett came out of nowhere to lead the NFL with 19.5 sacks in his contract year in 2019, but he has some reasons for staying loyal to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Barrett has said he wants to stay with Tampa Bay after one year there, and has two reasons why: one is the lack of state income tax, and two is the fact that he simply hates moving. Both of those are significant enough factors that he’s willing to give the Buccaneers a bit of a hometown discount.
“If [other teams] offer me more than Tampa, I’m going to look at the places, if they offer me more than Tampa, I’m going to look at what their taxes is compared to Tampa’s. Because I ain’t going to live in L.A. and get taxed crazy,” Barrett told SiriusXM Mad Dog Radio, via JoeBucsFan. “I’m not going to take drastically less but I am open to doing what I think is best for my career, and I think that would be staying in Tampa.”
The income tax angle is an underrated consideration for athletes, but it can have a huge impact on someone’s earnings — just ask Russell Westbrook. Barrett, to his credit, knows what he does and does not want, and has taken a lot of factors into account. It seems like it would be a surprise if he leaves Tampa now.
