DeAndre Hopkins Chose Titans Over Patriots For A Specific Reason
DeAndre Hopkins‘ decision to join the Tennessee Titans this offseason was questionable. In fact, even more surprisingly, Hopkins’ last two options were the Titans and the New England Patriots. Hopkins set certain guidelines for wherever he was going to play in 2023.
“I don’t need a great QB — I’ve done it with subpar QBs — just a QB who loves the game like I do,” Hopkins told the I AM ATHLETE podcast in May. “And a great defense. I think defense wins championships. For me, that’s it: great management, a QB who loves the game and a great defense.”
Both teams have at least two of those boxes checked and two of the best head coaches in the league in Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel. So what did it come down to for Hopkins to choose Tennessee?
It was largely due to taxes, according to NFL Network personality and Super Bowl champion Jason McCourty, who played for the Titans and Patriots as a defensive back during his career.
McCourty, who was at the Titans camp this past weekend, spoke to Hopkins about choosing Tennessee in free agency and said that the five-time All-Pro receiver didn’t have a hard time making his final decision for his new team.
A lot of NFL players are smart with their money, and Hopkins happens to be one of them. The reason he chose to play in Nashville is because of state income tax, which Tennessee has none of.
McCourty emphasized the significant impact of income tax on high-salary NFL players’ choices for new teams. Tax variations affect contract values; for instance, Massachusetts, with a five percent income tax, will increase to nine percent due to the recently passed “Millionaire’s Tax” for earnings exceeding $1 million.
The decision seems even smarter when you consider the fact that Florida and Texas don’t have any state income tax either. See, NFL players must pay taxes for every state that they play in, which means they’re subject to different tax laws on road games. Fortunately for Hopkins, he’s playing at the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans every year.
“We laughed about the fact that there’s no state tax in Tennessee,” McCourty said Monday on “Good Morning Football. ”He’s back in the AFC South, you guys. None. There’s none in Texas and there’s none in Florida. They are a lot of games where, maybe this contract isn’t as much, but he’ll be making the most of it.”
Hopkins signed a two-year, $26 million deal with up to $32 million in incentives earlier this month. If all goes well, he will see a very good chunk of that over his tenure with the Titans.
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