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BobKamman
Level 15
July 6, 2026
Question

How Much Tax Do These American Soccer Players Pay?

  • July 6, 2026
  • 2 replies
  • 64 views

USMNT players can earn between $330,000 to nearly $1 million from the World Cup, depending on how far the team progresses in the tournament.

FIFA does not pay players directly. Instead, they pay tournament prize money to the national federations. Thanks to a landmark 2022 collective bargaining agreement, U.S. Soccer pools 80% of the FIFA World Cup prize money and splits it equally between both the men’s and women’s national teams.

 

The per-player payout breakdown scales as follows:

 

Group Stage: ~$330,000 each
Round of 32: ~$361,000 each
Round of 16: ~$423,000 each
Quarterfinals: ~$484,000 each
Champions: ~$800,000 to ~$961,000 each

 

All of the team members are US citizens.  One of them, who has been in the news lately, was born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents who were living in London but visiting the US when his mother was seven months pregnant.  Airline staff did not allow her to board the family's return flight to London due to safety concerns over the advanced state of her pregnancy.  The US Supreme Court recently confirmed that he is taxed as a US citizen.  

2 replies

sjrcpa
Level 15
July 6, 2026

Do you suppose some of these players are incorporated and maybe S Corporations?

The more I know the more I don’t know.
BobKamman
BobKammanAuthor
Level 15
July 8, 2026

How would that save them US taxes?  Most of the American players don’t earn anything in the US, until World Cup rolls around in this country every 30 years or so.  I wonder how much of their earnings are taken by tax-planning expenses.  It’s hard enough for US athletes subject to a couple dozen state jurisdictions.  

sjrcpa
Level 15
July 9, 2026

I didn’t say S Corp would save taxes. It might.

The more I know the more I don’t know.