When Giancarlo Stanton agreed to a trade to the New York Yankees, it’s not likely he was thinking about feeding more than seven million meals to New York’s schoolchildren. But, in effect, by the time the remaining $197 million on his contract is paid, Stanton will do precisely that and more.
According to Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, Giancarlo Stanton’s New York City tax bill, if he chooses to live in New York City, will be $29 million by the time the final installment is paid to him for the remaining $295 million on his contract. It isn’t an exact calculation, but noted tax expert Josh Rossman of Port Jefferson Station, New York, calculated the number as close as could for Heyman.
That number caught my eye, so I went looking to see what $29 million could buy in New York City as tax monies collected from the city’s income tax. We all complain about taxes and sometimes, rightly so. But often, the funds received are set to good use and bring value to the city as a whole.
That was the case when I came across a report published by the NYC Independent Budget Office which states the average cost of a free meal provided to kids attending public schools to be $4.03 per meal. That was in 2015 when 57 percent of kindergarten through fifth-graders participated in the program. Today, the per-meal cost is probably higher, but you see the point.
For Giancarlo Stanton, the purge from his pockets is hardly over with. And that’s because he’s no longer working and living in Florida, which remains one of the seven states with no income tax. That’s going to cost him another nine percent (about) of his annual salary as well.
And back in 2014 just after Stanton signed the big contract with the Marlins, writing for NBC Sports, Bill Baer cited a study which, according to Bloomberg, the slugger would pay $141 million in taxes over the life of the deal.
Now apparently, no one is crying about Stanton, and he probably wouldn’t want us to, even if he cared that much about “losing” all this money. But the point should be well taken that Giancarlo Stanton agreed to a trade to come to New York when he could have chosen any of the thirty big league cities that would have cost him less, including the option to stay in Miami riding out the contract.
It’s also accurate to say everything is relative when we’re talking about the size of Stanton’s annual salary, which according to Spotrac, will range from $25-32 million per year during his tenure with the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton will not be standing in any food lines.
But the salient point remains, though not explicitly earmarked for this purpose, Giancarlo Stanton will be personally responsible for providing more than seven million meals to students attending New York City’s public schools.
And I just might be inclined to think about that the first time he strikes out three times in a game.
