About BreadTruth
BreadTruth was created to address the alarming rate at which professional athletes experience financial distress following their retirement. Despite signing contracts worth millions, a significant percentage of players face bankruptcy within five years of leaving their sport. The primary reason is a lack of accessible information regarding the actual net income from a professional contract.
Athletes are often unaware of the substantial deductions — including federal and state taxes, agent commissions, league escrow, and the so‑called "jock tax" — that reduce a headline salary to a significantly lower take‑home amount. BreadTruth was built to bridge this information gap by providing a clear, instant estimate so athletes at any career stage can see the real numbers behind the contract.
Our Mission
We want every athlete to understand one simple truth: signing a contract for tens of millions does not mean you will receive tens of millions in your bank account.
Whether you are a rookie just entering the league, a veteran in your prime earning years, or approaching retirement, maintaining a clear-headed, conservative financial mindset is essential. The figures you see in headlines are gross amounts — the real number is always smaller. We built BreadTruth to make that reality visible and to encourage responsible financial habits from day one. No amount of money is immune to reckless spending.
Important – Please Read
BreadTruth does not provide legal advice, financial advice, or tax advice of any kind. This tool is designed solely to give a rough, illustrative estimate of net income based on publicly available data. It is not a substitute for professional consultation.
We do not guarantee the accuracy of any calculation. Tax rates, league rules, escrow percentages, and other variables change over time and may not be reflected in real time. Individual circumstances — such as contract structure, bonuses, residency status, or deductions — are not captured by this tool.
Before making any financial decision, you should consult a certified public accountant (CPA), licensed financial advisor, or tax attorney who can review your specific situation.
By using BreadTruth, you acknowledge that you understand these limitations and agree that you will not rely on the estimates displayed here as the sole basis for any financial or legal decision.
How we verify our numbers
Every figure in the calculator is tied to a named, checkable source. The 2026 US federal brackets come from IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-32. State rates come from each state's revenue department. Escrow percentages and agent caps come from the league collective bargaining agreements. League-year figures are updated when the league publishes them — the 2026-27 NBA salary cap of $164.961M, the NFL's $301.2M cap and the NHL's $104.0M upper limit are the numbers currently loaded.
Where a rule genuinely varies by contract, we model the conservative case and say so on the page rather than quietly guessing. State tax is the clearest example: we apply the top marginal rate to the whole salary, which overstates the bill slightly and therefore understates your take-home pay. We would rather show you a smaller number that is safe than a larger one that is wrong.
If you find a figure that looks wrong, email hello@breadtruth.com with the source. Corrections are made to the calculator and the data-sources list on the home page, and the review date is bumped.
Who runs this
This website is operated by an independent developer who is not an accountant, financial advisor, or legal professional. The tool is a personal project born out of a belief that better information leads to better decisions.
For inquiries, contact: hello@breadtruth.com
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