Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold turned around his career and hoisted the Lombardi Trophy as a Super Bowl winner, but not all is smooth sailing for the 28-year-old star.
Darnold will owe the state of California $249,000 in taxes after leading the Seahawks to a 29-13 win against the New England Patriots at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara. Known as “jock taxes,” California requires professional athletes who don’t reside in the state to pay taxes based the duration of their work in the state.
The Seahawks arrived in the Bay Area on Feb. 1, which means the players spent eight work days in the state, including the Sunday of the Super Bowl. Darnold only made $178,000 for the Super Bowl win, which means he will lose $71,000 via taxes.
It won’t end for Darnold and the Seahawks either. Their time in California for the 2026 season, when visiting the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers, will also count toward taxes. Fortunately, the NFL saved the Seahawks a trip to the Golden State with the Los Angeles Chargers visiting instead in 2026.
While Darnold is paying a high price to California, he has a three-year, $100.5 million contract with the Seahawks.
Seahawks Also Benefitted From ‘Jock Tax’
Ironically, the Seahawks also benefited from the “jock tax” because Darnold previously played for the 49ers as a backup quarterback in 2023.
Darnold had a one-year deal of $4.5 million with the Niners as a backup to starter Brock Purdy that year. A California native and former USC star, Darnold left the 49ers after one season for a backup or potential bridge quarterback gig with the Minnesota Vikings.
Minnesota offered Darnold a one-year, $10 million deal for the 2024 season, but he wasn’t guaranteed to start since the Vikings drafted quarterback J.J. McCarthy with the No. 10 pick that year out of Michigan. McCarthy didn’t play because of a meniscus tear, and Darnold capitalized with the best season of his career up to that point.
Darnold completed 66.2% of his passes for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns for a 102.5 rating. He led the Vikings to a 14-3 record and a shot at the No. 1 seed in Week 18, but things ended sourly with a loss in that final game and then a Wild Card defeat against the Rams.
Minnesota ultimately decided to let Darnold walk in free agency for 2025 and have McCarthy start instead. Seattle signed Darnold to a three-year deal after trading away quarterback Geno Smith to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Darnold largely matched his 2024 regular season with the Seahawks in 2025 as he led the team to a 14-3 mark but a No. 1 seed this time around. He completed 67.7% of his passes for 4,048 yards and 25 touchdowns for a 99.1 rating.
Darnold only improved in the playoffs, unlike his stint in Minnesota with three postseason wins and no turnovers. He finished the playoffs with 672 yards passing for five touchdowns and a 102.4 rating.
Seahawks Cashed In With Sam Darnold
While many teams didn’t want to pay north of $100 million for Darnold, the Seahawks went for it and still came out ahead.
His $33.5 million annual average is less than the top-tier quarterback annual salaries. His number dips for 2026 at $27.5 million but bumps up to $35.5 million next year. The Seahawks can work with that and most likely reward him with a contract extension after becoming the second quarterback in franchise history to lift a Lombardi Trophy.
Seahawks’ Sam Darnold Receives Awful News After Super Bowl