Good morning and welcome to The Jalen Ramsey Show! We’re here to talk about your life and your money. We have open lines at 818-338-0011. Starting us off today in Miami, Florida we have Josh. Josh, welcome to the Jalen Ramsey Show.

Hi Jalen. That’s for taking my call. How are you today?

Better than the Jaguars under Tom Coughlin. How can I help?

Well I’m calling regarding some retirement options I’m coming to vest in. As you know, three years of service makes an NFL player eligible for the league pension plan. Now, I’m guessing I won’t have much more than three years in the league — maybe four or five if I am lucky enough to fall in to a team-friendly contract as a secure backup. My question is, with the minimum annual pension payment being $21,360, what should I plan to do with that money as I am still just 22 years old?

You’re 22 years old and wondering about pension money. Okay, well, what have you done with your contract and signing bonus cash, if any, to date?

My largest chunk of money came in my signing bonus of about $10.8 million, which I received the rest of this season. But I’ve only got about four-and-a-half million in salary and roster bonuses in front of me over the next two seasons.

Oh, so you got a pretty nice rookie deal. Must have a been a top 15 pick or so?

Uhhh, yeah, top ten. But there were nine mistakes ahead of me.

Well that’s really good news. And you haven’t squandered what you have?

Not too bad. Bought a place in Scottsdale that I’m still working to unload. Then a condo in Miami. This is all really about just getting the most I can because I don’t plan on running passing camps or doing insurance commercials when I hang it up.

Of course. Every player wants to do what’s best for themselves — especially if it’s at the cost to the owners and The Shield itself. Well, the first thing you need to do it get on with someone for your third year. Get that pension money vested because, you get all silly and sit a season or make some other stupid decision, that opportunity is gone.

Well this league has fucked me pretty hard Jalen so, anything I can do —

First, let me ask, are you going to be getting out of the league because you’re an injury machine or because of your performance?

Well, I got drafted to a team that had a roster and coaching staff built for tanking but swore it was retooling. Then I got traded when they took a different quarterback their new coach wanted with the top pick and the new team was also in a tank mode this season so they have a top-5 pick next year and, you know, Tua Tagovailoa has been linked to their draft board and he just declared for the draft and I think —

So it sounds like you’ve got a lot of blame for everyone else but are taking little responsibility yourself. Now you’ve got two years in, I have three. You’re a top ten pick, I’m a top five. So do whatever you want but, I’ll tell you, this attitude is not endearing to front office guys or your locker room. I highly suggest you get your head right because, yeah, you’ll be looking at three years tops with that way of thinking. As far as the pension goes, I wouldn’t even think about it for now. The full benefits don’t kick in until you’re 55 and, even then, the NFL has about the worst pension offering in American sports. I suggest you just make sure you’re maxing our your 401k because the NFL’s 2:1 match is really the highlight of the NFL player retirement plan. But, like I said, you keep working on that attitude first because, without that, this is all moot.

Okay, next up on the line we have Mike in Dallas. Mike, Welcome to the Jalen Ramsey Show.

Good morning Jalen and thanks for taking my call. How are you today?

Better than the Jaguars under Tom Coughlin. What can I do for you, sir?

Well I was laid off from a pretty good job in 2018. Was a really great gig. Spent a dozen years there, got some awards, and really just grew myself professionally. So pay was good and cost of living was low — it was pretty good. So I had a couple interviews afterward but nothing seemed right so I took basically all of 2019 off. Just this week, I picked up a new opportunity in the same industry but the job is in Dallas. I haven’t lived in Texas before but always hear about it on sports news when, for example, Dwight Howard was being courted years back. I was hoping you could discuss with me a little about the implications of moving to Texas? 

Texas is a great move. Lots of investing and growth going on in the Lone Star state right now. And while the income tax situation — that they have none — is enticing, Texas does have some of the highest sales and property taxes in the nation. But, again, this is all relative. Where are you moving from?

My previous work was in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin! Wonderful! So it isn’t like you’re used to dealing with million dollar 1,200 square foot apartments. You’re probably going to get a modest place — by Texas standards — and, you know, just keep in mind that the taxman is going to have his hand out a bit more at the end of the year. But here’s the thing about Texas’ property taxes — they’re collected and used locally. So your returns should be relative to your burden, as oppose to states where the taxes all go to the general fund and then the monies are released to whichever mayors will the governor a favor though, for example.

Jessica and I live a pretty quiet life, really. I think she’s more excited about the weather than the savings but, like I said, I penciled out the savings and I just don’t really see how it’s much different. I thought Texas was supposed to be a real safe-haven for high earners. Am I missing something?

High earner how? What’s your earnings going to be at this new job?

We’re still ironing out a couple small incentive items and associated endorsement figures but between six and seven million annually.

Well, the good news is you have a fabulous income. I mean, I’m making $13.7 million next year — no big deal — but I’m also exposed to the rapefest that is California taxes. The bad news for you is that you’re losing a lot of those tax savings now because those perks — and much much more, actually — were shifted from individuals to large companies in the 2016 GOP tax overhaul. For example, you cannot deduct more than $10,000 in state and local taxes (SALT) anymore. But you’d have that hit no matter what. This is just reality for everyone in the new system. The plus is, as the SALT deduction has been capped at such a low figure, states like Texas without income tax are now more of a haven for out of state high earners looking to find citizenship elsewhere. But since you’ll actually be a state resident, the auditors are going to be too busy messing with the faux dual residents looking to game the system.

So I really should be looking at it as a wash?

You should be looking at it holistically. Utilize all your typical tax havens and shelters to keep the government’s hands off your money. I assume you’ve already built up pretty substantial wealth and protecting the growth on that money is going to be as important, if not more so, than the different in state taxes between Texas and Wisconsin. They are all big numbers but that’s because you’re making a lot of money and doing great. So it’s a good problem to have. Thanks for calling in.

As always, I want to thank all our listeners and remind all of you out there that I only talk because I can back it up. Don’t be trash like Josh Allen. We’ll see you all next time on The Jalen Ramsey Show.