Michael Jordan is one of the most influential basketball players of all time, as he became one of the most famous athletes of all time during his time with the Chicago Bulls. The shooting guard was simply unbelievable, doing never-before-seen stuff in Windy City, catching the attention of a lot of people around the world.
His influence was so huge that Jordan affected some laws around the country. Back in 1991, unintentionally, MJ would change the course not only of the NBA but pro sports in general.
After several years of trying to beat the bigger teams in the Eastern Conference, especially the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls landed in their first NBA Finals ever, where another historical team was waiting for them. They beat the Los Angeles Lakers in five games, starting their magical run in the 90s.
How Michael Jordan Changed Taxes For Athletes
Things looked great for the Bulls, and Jordan was at the top of the world, but the state of California decided to surprise the newly-crowned NBA champion, making him pay some taxes for playing in the Finals in Cali. This didn’t sit well with authorities in Illinois, who did the same, starting a trend that became famous around the league.
Via Inside Hoops:
As the story goes, soon after the celebrations, parades and excitement of the ’91 Finals, the State of California notified Michael Jordan that he would owe taxes for the days he spent in Los Angeles. In direct response to this new egregious policy, Illinois passed a bill famously known as “Michael Jordan’s Revenge” – imposing income taxes on athletes from California and any other state that imposed a tax on their residents. Many city and state governments followed suit, seizing the opportunity to reach into the pockets of visiting athletes. Today, nearly every state that hosts professional sports teams has enacted their own Jock Tax policy. Even city local taxing authorities such as Cleveland, Kansas City, Detroit and Philadelphia established similar rules independent of the state.
Boardroom recently remembered this moment, explaining that right now, NBA, NFL, and MLB players have to file 15-20 tax returns a year. That should be a nightmare for players and even for their accountants. This could have been completely different now if that Finals had a different outcome, but we all know that Jordan wasn’t letting anybody beat him in the biggest series of all.
Besides his incredible skills with the ball, his remarkable defense, the way he used to score the ball, and his competitiveness, Jordan made history for more reasons. Even when he didn’t want to, His Airness was the focus of historical changes not only in the world of sports but society as a whole.
