Advocates For Collegiate Athletes’ Health and Wellbeing
WASHINGTON — During a House Ways and Means Committee hearing on federal tax policy’s impact on college and professional athletes, Congressman Vern Buchanan, Vice Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, questioned a panel of sports, tax and economic experts on the health impacts on athletes and the need for financial planning guidance.
The panel included former NFL linebacker Sam Acho, ESPN Analyst and Director of Human Capital at AWM Capital; Dennis Coates, Ph.D., Professor at University of Maryland, Baltimore County; Thad Madden, NIL Tax Consultant and former IRS Revenue Officer and Fraud Analyst; and Robert Raiola, CPA, Director, Sports and Entertainment Practice, PKF O’Connor Davis, LLP.
Here’s what Buchanan said about athletes and the impact of tax policy on their athletic and professional careers:
On the health impacts on college athletes and the risk athletes assume:
Buchanan: “Mr. Acho, I was going to mention to you … as a player. … I had two sons who played Division I football, for Bobby Bowden at Florida State and at Stanford. One of the things I don’t think gets talked enough about, but it needs to be said, is the risk these kids take on the field every day.
“And there needs to be as much consideration we can give them as possible. I’ve seen it. … And the reality of it really hit home with me. … I read a book on Penn State. … They had followed these kids from their freshman year through a period of five years, and there was like one or two left. … There are a few kids getting rich. They’re doing pretty good, but there’s a lot of kids putting themselves at risk.
“In my situation, my son had a concussion for two months. He couldn’t go out of the house. He had to stay inside. But that happened with a lot of these kids, and we just must keep that in mind. As people are making billions of dollars on the other side, what are we doing for the kids? We should have a way of making sure they get taken care of. … What’s your thought?”
Acho: “Thank you, Mr. Buchanan. I spent several years as part of the NFL Players Association fighting for players’ rights. I sat down in front of the billionaire owners’ negotiating a collective bargaining agreement, and so this idea of player safety means very much to me. I also currently sit on the side as an ESPN analyst. And so I understand that TV contracts are also helping to increase the revenue for these teams. And the problem with these TV contracts is, well, how do you make more money? Well, you need more games. Well, that means players have to play in these games. And now players are accepting the brute of not just a 10 or a 12-game season. …
“Well, now all of a sudden, with the new expanded college football playoff, a team could play in 17 games. … That’s five extra games for possibly five years. That’s another season-plus that these players are subject to potentially being injured. These young people have chances for concussions, lower extremity injuries and a very limited idea of [whether there is] health insurance for these players that have a short earning window.
“And so I do think there needs to be someone speaking up on behalf of players. Everyone gets all caught up in NIL and transfer portal and ‘these players are making all this money.’ But you rarely hear about, number one, the players who are getting kicked off of teams in order to make room for the other players. Nor do you hear about the players who are getting injured and not able to continue their career both athletically and also academically.”
On the need for tax withholding for NIL money for college athletes to encourage smart financial planning:
Buchanan: “Let me just say – one big thing is that they need to give these kids a net number. When they pay them, let the big guys pay the taxes. … Take care of that so they don’t get buried in this. … A lot of them get caught up. Someone talks them into this business deal, and before they know it, they’ve lost most of their money. That’s what I’ve seen. … I just want to make sure we don’t leave the players out of the discussion because they’re the ones making the opportunities to build these big facilities. And the minimum thing we should do is take care of their taxes as it relates so they get a net number, at least for the first few years, and put it in some kind of a fund that will be there for them going forward.”
Buchanan is a respected leader in Florida’s business community and has created thousands of jobs over the course of his career. He previously chaired both the Florida Chamber of Commerce and the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce. Buchanan currently serves as Vice Chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee and sits on the Joint Committee on Taxation.
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