Athlete Relocation Hidden Costs

There are some costs to athlete relocation that are obvious: the auto transports, the moving of household goods, and so on.  But there are also some athlete relocation hidden costs that may not be so obvious.  Let’s take the recent move of the St. Louis Rams to Los Angeles as a perfect example of these hidden costs. Rams employees, while earning a living in St. Louis, paid a state income tax of six percent and a city income tax of one percent.  However, for those players and employees earning less than one million dollars per year, they will pay 13.3% state income tax now that they live in California.

But the real headache with regards to relocation costs are measured in the cost of living increase in moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles.  CNN Money, using a cost of living calculator, estimates that a person moving from St. Louis to Los Angeles will experience a 193% increase in housing costs and  parallel increase of 29% in transportation costs.  In point of fact, it is estimated that a person moving from the Midwest to Los Angeles would have to experience a salary increase of 51.7% to maintain the same standard of living.

Needless to say, Rams players and employees did not receive a 51.7% standard of living increase when the move was made, and this is simply because there is no provision in the CBA for cost of living equivalency when such a move is made by owners of professional teams.

Will this impact the highest paid players on the Rams?  Certainly it will, but not nearly as much as the undrafted rookies and minimum-paid players; for them, the hidden costs of athlete relocation are very real.

Sports Relocation, Inc. Sports Relocation, Inc assist players/coaches of all professional sports leagues including the NBA, WNBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, and entertainers relocate nationwide by servicing their Real Estate & Relocation needs. Ikem Chukumerije is licensed to practice real estate in New York, California, Nevada, Florida, & Georgia. Sports Relocation, Inc operates nationwide and provides elite athlete relocation services in all 50 states and internationally