Peyton Manning Could End Up Losing a Lot of Money to New Jersey Taxes If the Broncos Lose the Super Bowl

He could end up paying $46,844 on his $46,000 Super Bowl loser's bonus.

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If Peyton Manning needs a little extra incentive to win the Super Bowl on Sunday, Forbes just provided it for him. According to a tax specialist who penned a piece for Forbes, Manning could theoretically owe the state of New Jersey roughly $46,844 in taxes if the Broncos fail to beat the Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII. And that would be problematic for Manning, because the players from the Super Bowl's losing team only collect $46,000 after the big game. So he would actually end up owing money for playing in the Super Bowl if the Broncos lost.

Why? We're going to be honest with you here: The Forbes writer provides a much better explanation for it than we ever could over here. But the short explanation is that, because the Broncos play the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. later this year and Manning is due to make about $15 million next season, he is going to be bumped into New Jersey's highest tax bracket for 2014. So at the end of the year, he would owe about $46,844 to the state. He could theoretically avoid that tax hit by retiring this offseason (in which case, he would only owe $982 for losing the Super Bowl) or by getting traded to a different team that doesn't play the Jets or Giants during the 2014-15 NFL season. But neither of those scenarios is likely at this point.

Regardless of how things play out, we're sure that Manning is good for the money. It's just crazy to think that, if he loses on Sunday, he might actually end up not getting paid for a day's work. So it looks like he has yet another reason not to lose. And we're sure the Seahawks will be thrilled to hear that.

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[via Forbes]

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