A day before Seahawks G.M. John Schneider addressed the potential impact of Washington’s looming “millionaire tax” on the defending Super Bowl champions, Simms and I stumbled into a conversation about state income taxes during PFT Live.
The spark came from the trade that has sent defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa from the Cowboys (and Texas) to the 49ers (and California). In his last stop, there was no state income tax. At his new team, he’ll lose 13.3 percent, off the top.
It’s not as clean and simple as every penny of compensation being taxed, or not, by the state where the team plays. For road trips, the game check is taxed by the state in which the game happens. It gets more complicated as to per-game roster bonuses. As we hear it, some states try to tax the visiting player based also on a percentage of the full-year roster bonuses and/or the prorated portion of the signing bonus for the season in which the game is played.
And, yes, the lack of state income tax becomes a selling point in free agency, which explains Schneider’s concerns about Washington’s tax rate for millionaires increasing from 0.0 percent to 9.9. But, as Odighizuwa will learn the hard way, that doesn’t matter if the free-agent contract also doesn’t include a no-trade clause.
Regardless, the variations in state income tax create an imbalance as it relates to the most important aspect of anyone’s pay — how much they take home.
Simms mentioned on Thursday’s PFT Live that he heard something interesting from someone in the league who saw the tax discussion from the day before. (And, yes, plenty of people in the league watch PFT Live — probably because it features no phony debates, no false praise, no reckless hype, no minced words, and no performative antics.) There’s an argument to be made that the salary cap should take state income taxes into account.
It would be complicated, given that taxes depend on where games are played. Still, every team has eight or nine home games per year. That’s roughly half of the compensation, taxed based on where the team is located.
The real question is whether teams should get more to spend, given that more of what is paid will end up being taken off the top by the state government. Some teams may not want to do it, since having a higher cap means having a higher floor means spending more money that otherwise would be siphoned away as pure profit.
And the numbers would be significant. At a 2026 salary cap of $301.2 million, providing the Rams, Chargers, and 49ers with a 13.3-percent bump would push the cap to $341.2 million for those teams.
The deeper question is whether state income taxes make a competitive difference. As noted the other day, most of the teams in the no-tax states haven’t been to a Super Bowl this century. (The Seahawks and Buccaneers are the exception; the Titans, Cowboys, Dolphins, Jaguars, and Texans are not.)
Part of the problem is that most players don’t fret about state income taxes, even if they should. Players focus mainly on annual average, the true locker-room measuring stick that determines the pecking order among the most and least valuable players.
Although it would indeed be difficult to come up with the right way to determine cap credits, since the total tax burden depends on where games are played, that would be doable. The bigger challenge would be to get all teams in states with income tax to agree to a higher cap in order to account for it.
News flash: Not every team is as obsessed with winning as they pretend to be. For many owners, it’s about profit. Having more money to spend means having less to buy giant yachts or that much-needed tenth home. Especially since the owners of the teams in the high-tax states are also paying those increased rates, too.
Just kidding. The ultra-rich have seemingly cracked the code on eating nearly every ounce of what they kill. Which is another reason why the owners of the teams in the high-tax states won’t want to have more to spend — even if they have to say they do.
Seahawks Clips
The Seahawks have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with cornerback Noah Igbinoghene, Michael-Shawn Dugar of TheAthletic.com reports.
Noah, 26, spent the past two seasons in Washington.
In 2025, he totaled 35 tackles, one sack and five pass breakups in 15 games with two starts. He played 373 defensive snaps and 72 on special teams.
He played all 17 games in 2024, with 10 starts, and saw action on 76 percent of the defensive snaps.
The Dolphins made Igbinoghene a first-round pick in 2020, and he played two years in Miami and one in Dallas before landing in Washington.
In his career, Igbinoghene has recorded 119 tackles, one interception, 17 pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.
Washington is one of a handful of states with NFL teams that carry the benefit of no state income tax. That could be changing.
A 9.9-percent “millionaire tax” has emerged from the legislature, and Governor Bob Ferguson plans to sign it into law. As written, it becomes effective in 2028.
That could impact the local NFL team, when it comes to attracting players to the state.
“There were a bunch of agents texting me the other day like, ‘Hey, can’t use that anymore, buddy,’” G.M. John Schneider said Thursday on Seattle Sports 710-AM, via Brady Henderson of ESPN. “I think it is for all the pro teams here in town. It’s always been a huge attraction, especially competing with the California teams. It’s been a big deal for us. So it’s going to sting, from a recruiting standpoint and what that looks like. . . . It’s going to sting, no question about it.”
The other NFL states that currently have no state income tax are Nevada, Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. California imposes a 13.3-percent tax on the state’s highest earners.
On one hand, the impact on take-home pay becomes a positive when it comes to recruiting players. On the other hand, it’s not as if the Raiders, Texans, Cowboys, Titans, Jaguars, Buccaneers, and Dolphins are powerhouse teams. Only one of them — the Buccaneers — has made it to a Super Bowl this century.
The 49ers and Rams, meanwhile, have been to six between them since the 2001 season.
The Seahawks have been to three since 2014, without state income tax. If/when the “millionaire tax” becomes effective in 2028, would-be millionaires with options could choose to go elsewhere.
Wide receiver Dareke Young is joining Klint Kubiak in Las Vegas.
Young’s agents announced that he has agreed to terms on a contract with the Raiders. Kubiak became the Raiders’ head coach after serving as the Seahawks’ offensive coordinator in their run to the Super Bowl LX title.
Young was a member of that Seahawks team and he spent the last four seasons in Seattle. Young had two catches for 48 yards in nine regular season appearances last year and he also played in all three of the team’s postseason contests.
Young saw action on special teams in addition to offense in Seattle and he had 12 tackles across his 12 overall appearances.
The Seahawks are signing safety D’Anthony Bell to a one-year deal, according to Jordan Schultz of The Schultz Report.
Bell spent 14 games with the Seahawks last season before finishing the season with the Panthers, who claimed him off waivers Jan. 1. He did not play a game for Carolina, but saw action on 96 defensive snaps and 251 on special teams in 14 games with the Seahawks.
Bell entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Browns in 2022.
He played 50 games in three seasons for the Browns, with seven starts, totaling 61 tackles, two interceptions and a forced fumble.
Seahawks coach Mike Macdonald kept most of his staff after winning Super Bowl LX.
He did lose offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, who left to become head coach of the Raiders, and Macdonald hired Brian Fleury as the team’s new offensive coordinator.
Macdonald announced his staff on Thursday, and it includes four other newcomers in inside linebackers coach Zachary Orr, pass-game strategist Daniel Stern, senior offensive assistant/running backs Thomas Hammock and offensive assistant Johnathan Williams. Orr, Stern and Hammock previously worked with Macdonald in Baltimore, while Williams most recently served as the offensive coordinator at South Carolina State.
Several coaches who were on the staff last season received a title change for 2026.
Tyson Prince was promoted to quarterbacks coach to replace Andrew Janocko, who went with Kubiak to Las Vegas as the Raiders’ offensive coordinator. Offensive passing game coordinator Jake Peetz also added the title of quarterbacks coach. Offensive line coach John Benton added the title senior offensive assistant; Josh Bynes was promoted to outside linebackers coach, with Chris Partridge, who held that title last season, moving to defensive run game coordinator.
With Orr taking over as inside linebackers coach, Kirk Olivadotti moves to a new role of senior defensive assistant. On the other side of the ball, Justin Outten goes from run game specialist and assistant offensive line coach to run game coordinator.
Orr and Macdonald are reuniting after spending significant portions of their respective careers together in Baltimore. Orr played three seasons with the Ravens as a linebacker from 2014-16 before his career was cut short by a neck/spine condition, coinciding with the start of Macdonald’s NFL coaching career.
Here is the full 2026 coaching staff:
- Mike Macdonald (Head Coach)
- Aden Durde (Defensive Coordinator)
- Brian Fleury (Offensive Coordinator)
- Jay Harbaugh (Special Teams Coordinator)
- John Benton (Senior Offensive Assistant/Offensive Line)
- Mack Brown (Tight Ends)
- Josh Bynes (Outside Linebackers)
- Michael Byrne (Assistant Tight Ends)
- Rob Caprice (Defensive Assistant)
- Keller Chryst (Defensive Quality Control)
- Devin Fitzsimmons (Assistant Special Teams)
- Leslie Frazier (Assistant Head Coach)
- Thomas Garcia (Strength & Conditioning Assistant)
- Thomas Hammock (Senior Offensive Assistant/Running Backs)
- Justin Hinds (Defensive Line)
- Jeff Howard (Safeties)
- Frisman Jackson (Wide Receivers)
- Ivan Lewis (Director of Player Performance & Development)
- Quinshon Odom (Assistant Offensive Line)
- Tim Ojeda (Strength & Conditioning Assistant)
- Kirk Olivadotti (Senior Defensive Assistant)
- Zach Orr (Inside Linebackers)
- Justin Outten (Run Game Coordinator)
- Chris Partridge (Defensive Run Game Coordinator)
- Jake Peetz (Offensive Passing Game Coordinator / Quarterbacks)
- Mark Philipp (Associate Head Strength & Conditioning)
- Tyson Prince (Quarterbacks Coach)
- Karl Scott (Defensive Passing Game Coordinator/Defensive Backs)
- Daniel Stern (Pass Game Strategist)
- Neiko Thorpe (Defensive Assistant/Defensive Backs)
- Danny van Dijk (Head Strength & Conditioning)
- Johnathan Williams (Offensive Assistant)
- Jamie Yanchar (Strength & Conditioning Assistant)
Running back Emanuel Wilson was a restricted free agent whom the Packers didn’t tender, making him an unrestricted free agent. Wilson found a new home on Thursday.
He agreed to a one-year deal worth up to $2.1 million with the Seahawks, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports.
The Seahawks needed help at the position after losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker to the Chiefs and with Zach Charbonnet working his way back from a knee injury.
Wilson has appeared in 41 regular-season games and four playoff games for Green Bay the past three seasons. He has 242 carries for 1,083 yards and seven touchdowns in the regular season and 16 carries for 45 yards in the postseason.
In 2025, Wilson had games of 107 and 82 yards.
The Seahawks are on the board.
They have their first external free agent this offseason, agreeing to terms with safety Rodney Thomas, Tom Pelissero of NFL Media reports.
It is the second safety the Colts have lost, following strong safety Nick Cross, who left for a two-year deal with the Commanders.
Thomas played 150 defensive snaps for Indianapolis last season, making 21 tackles. He played in the substitution packages when the Colts used an extra deep safety.
Thomas, 27, played all possible 68 games after the Colts made him a seventh-round pick in 2022. He saw action on 1,926 defensive snaps and 757 on special teams.
Thomas started 25 games in his first two seasons.
A contributor to the Seahawks’ great 2025 defense will be back in 2026.
Seahawks nose tackle Brandon Pili agreed to a one-year, $2 million deal to stay in Seattle, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Pili started last season on the practice squad but was brought up to the active roster and became a solid contributor to the defensive line rotation, primarily playing on running downs.
Pili originally entered the NFL with the Dolphins as an undrafted rookie out of USC in 2023.
The new Daniel Jones contract is impressive. Impressive enough to make a major impression on other quarterbacks who had existing deals.
Two are worth mentioning for now: Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold and Buccaneers quarterback Baker Mayfield.
Darnold, who (like Jones) left Minnesota in free agency a year ago, signed in 2025 a three-year, $33.5 million per year deal with the Seahawks. He’s due to make $27.5 million in 2026 and $35.5 million in 2027.
Jones, meanwhile, will make $44 million over the next two years, with up to $12 million in incentives.
So that’s $63 million for Darnold over two years, and $88 million for Jones.
Even before Jones did his deal, Darnold deserved a new contract. He outperformed expectations.
If he had underperformed, the Seahawks would have cut him. That’s an example of the one-way nature of NFL contracts. The team can tear it up if the player doesn’t perform at a high enough level. If the player overshoots the value of the deal, he’s stuck.
Then there’s Mayfield. He’s due to make $40 million this year, with a cap number of $52.975 million. He’s in line for an extension, and the Jones deal will (or should) be the starting point.
As veteran quarterbacks go, there’s a broad range of earning capacity. For those well under the $60 million maximum, deals like the one between the Colts and Jones should have a significant impact.
