MONEY AND THE ATHLETE

A pair of $500 courtside Laker seats to watch Nick Van Exel return for the first round of the NBA playoffs might be just the ticket to impress a prospective business client.

A scalper wants twice as much? No problem--back before 1986, when it was all tax deductible. Those were the good old days, when a scalper got what he wanted, and a ticket buyer got what he wanted, plus a 100% tax write-off as long as there was business discussed or obvious business benefit.

Van Exel better not get thrown out of the game. Now it no longer matters what you pay that scalper. The Internal Revenue Service regards those two courtside seats at a cost of $500 each, and while there’s still a tax deduction to be had, only 50% of the face value of those tickets can be written off.

That 100% deduction was reduced to 80% in 1986, then reduced again a few years later to the present-day 50%.

Lease one of the four $296,000 luxury suites at the new football stadium in Charlotte for business reasons, and do you really care about tax breaks? Instead of writing off $296,000, a suite-holder must determine what the highest-priced ticket is in the stadium and then multiply it by the number of seats in the box and then apply the 50% rate for the tax deduction.

So if the most expensive ticket for a Panther game is $50, and there are 16 seats in a suite with 10 games, that $296,000 box is worth $4,000 in tax deductions.

Some suite-holders have been known to take a more aggressive approach to tax deductions and have tried to take write-offs in advertising or promotion, or have written off maintenance fees, furniture purchases and food service, but Gregg Ritchie of KPMG Peat Marwick, said, “Aggressive is another word for camouflage.

“There is a difference in my business from being aggressive and hiding things well. One is legal, the other is illegal.”

The newest rage in sports, of course, is the permanent seat license (PSL). When a new football stadium is built in Los Angeles, it will almost certainly include a PSL plan. Fans will be asked to pay a premium for buying the rights to a seat, and then will be required to purchase the ticket for that seat each year or forfeit the PSL.

“We call them charter seat rights,” said Max Muhleman, a Charlotte marketing executive who has designed such campaigns for several NFL owners. “We add the fan to the equation of building a stadium. We’re making them a partner. They receive something, and it has value. The control of that ticket always rests with them. It’s an investment, and you can see it in the Charlotte newspapers what the charter seat rights for Hornets games now cost. They’ve gone way up.

“Fans get a deed, just like when they buy a house. The only stipulation is they have to buy the tickets each year.”

So far the PSLs have not been deemed tax deductible, although several accountants believe the one-time fee can be amortized over the 30-year guarantee to that seat, prompting a small write-off.

“Most cities are selling the PSLs tax free to fans,” Muhleman said. “But in Nashville, where the Oilers will be moving, they chose to charge a state sales tax because they wanted the state, which is putting up $55 million for a new football stadium, to reap some kind of an immediate return.”

Question: Who wants to watch the Oilers play?

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HIGHEST-PAID ATHLETES

BASEBALL

*--*

Player, Team Salary Cecil Fielder, Detroit $9,237,500 Barry Bonds, San Francisco 8,416,667 Ken Griffey, Seattle 7,500,000 Frank Thomas, Chicago (AL) 7,150,000 Juan Gonzalez, Texas 7,100,000 Mark McGwire, Oakland 7,000,000 Cal Ripken, Baltimore 6,877,521 Matt Williams, San Francisco 6,550,000 Joe Carter, Toronto 6,500,000 Greg Maddux, Atlanta 6,500,000 John Olerud, Toronto 6,500,000

*--*

NFL

*--*

Player, Team Salary * Deion Sanders, Dallas $14,500,000 Drew Bledsoe, New England 13,200,000 Ki-Jana Carter, Cincinnati 7,900,000 Jerry Rice, San Francisco 6,500,000 Michael Irvin, Dallas 6,200,000 Jeff Blake, Cincinnati 4,960,000 Dan Marino, Miami 4,500,000 Steve Young, San Francisco 4,000,000 Rick Mirer, Seattle 3,800,000 Emmitt Smith, Dallas 3,600,000

*--*

*--Includes salary for playing baseball.

NBA

*--*

Player, Team Salary Patrick Ewing, New York $18,724,000 Clyde Drexler, Houston 9,810,000 David Robinson, San Antonio 7,700,000 Chris Webber, Washington 7,000,000 Joe Dumars, Detroit 6,881,000 Danny Manning, Phoenix 6,833,000 A.C. Green, Phoenix 6,473,000 Shaquille O’Neal, Orlando 5,700,000 Derrick Coleman, Philadelphia 5,700,000 Sean Elliott, San Antonio 5,333,000

*--*

NHL

*--*

Player, Team Salary Wayne Gretzky, St. Louis $6,545,363 Mark Messier, N.Y. Rangers 6,000,000 Keith Tkachuck, Winnipeg 6,000,000 Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh 4,571,429 Pavel Bure, Vancouver 4,500,000 Pat LaFontaine, Buffalo 4,300,000 Eric Lindros, Philadelphia 4,162,033 Patrick Roy, Colorado 4,019,200 Brett Hull, St. Louis 3,800,000

*--*

OTHER SPORTS

*--*

Player, Sport Salary Mike Tyson, Boxing $40,000,000 Riddick Bowe, Boxing 22,000,000 Gerhard Berger, Auto Racing 12,000,000 Evander Holyfield, Boxing 11,000,000 Michael Schumacher, Auto Racing 10,000,000 George Foreman, Boxing 10,000,000 Jean Alesi, Auto Racing 7,000,000 Pernell Whitaker, Boxing 7,000,000

*--*

TITLE-WINNING COACHES

NFL: Barry Switzer, Cowboys, $1,200,000

BASEBALL: Bobby Cox, Braves, $600,000

NBA: Rudy Tomjanovich, Rockets, $200,000

NHL: Jacques Lemaire, Devils, $275,000

Average high school coach’s stipend: $2,000

HOW THEY EARN IT

How much Patrick Ewing makes per rebound: $25,234.50

How much James Worthy is making this season for not playing: $5,150,000

How much Shawn Bradley makes per inch of height: $48,000

How much Michael Jordan makes per point: $1,670.95

How much Albert Belle makes per home run: $110,000

How much Randy Johnson makes per strikeout: $20,493.20

How much Mike Piazza makes per home run: $84,375

How much Jose Mesa makes per save: $32,004.85

How much Wayne Gretzky makes per point: $64,170.23

How much Guy Hebert makes per save: $510.49

Harold Baines of the Chicago White Sox will receive $50,000 if he wins the Gold Glove.

Baines, a full-time designated hitter, has not played the field in five years.

ENDORSEMENTS

*--*

Player, Sport Endorsement $ Michael Jordan, NBA 40,000,000 Shaquille O’Neal, NBA 17,000,000 Jack Nicklaus, Golf 14,500,000 Arnold Palmer, Golf 14,000,000 Andre Agassi, Tennis 13,000,000 George Foreman, Boxing 8,000,000 Greg Norman, Golf 8,000,000 Pete Sampras, Tennis 6,500,000

*--*

MONEY MISCELLANY

How much for a Dodger dog: $2.50

How much do Laker ball boys earn per game: $60-$75

How much for a light bulb in a baseball stadium light stand?: $60

How much does it cost to operate a Zamboni per game?: $750-$1,000

How much do the Angels spend for baseballs per game?: $200

How much for chalk to mark the foul lines?: $15

How much for a round of golf at Riviera?: $150

What the Ducks pay for pucks: $15,000

What it costs per month to provide baseball fans with out-of-town scores: $350

HOW THEY SPEND IT

Here is how one current baseball player making $2 million this season will spend his money.

Taxes: $900,000

Real estate/mortgage: $100,000

Cars/transportation: $100,000

Living expenses: $200,000

Cash investments: $500,000

Profession fees: $100,000

Insurance: $50,000

Charity: $25,000

Children’s education: $25,000