There’s no reason to doubt Mike Silver’s report that the Raiders are “planning” to host defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for a visit next week. (“That’s not the stench of raw sewage in the locker room . . . it’s just a bad batch of potpourri.”) But there’s also no reason to believe the Dolphins aren’t the frontrunners for Suh’s services.
PFT continues to hear that the team with the best chance of landing Suh is the Dolphins. And for good reason; owner Stephen Ross previously whiffed on coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback Peyton Manning, and coach Jeff Fisher. Ross wants to make a splash, as does new executive V.P. of football operations Mike Tannenbaum.
Ross won the rights to receiver Mike Wallace two years ago, but that hasn’t worked out very well. Suh could end up working out even better. Or maybe not. Until we know whether Suh gives the Dolphins a realistic bump in their on-field fate, Suh will nevertheless create plenty of buzz and sell plenty of tickets and move plenty of merchandise in Miami.
When it comes to a contest between the Raiders and the Dolphins, Ross has ultimate ace in the hole — the absence of state income taxes in Florida. In California, the rate for the really rich is 13.3 percent.
So if Suh signs a deal that pays him $15 million per year in California, the Golden State will withhold $1.995 million in taxes. Per year. In Florida, the Sunshine State will take the grand total of zero dollars and zero cents from Suh’s game checks.
Over the course of a seven-year deal (if Suh is there for all seven), the difference becomes $13.965 million. In other words, he’d be working nearly one full year out of seven to pay for the privilege of living and working in Califoria.
The only way the Raiders can compete with the Dolphins and $15 million per year would be to enough to get Suh to the same net after federal and state taxes. Which would be roughly $18 million per year.
The primary alternative for Suh will be staying put with the Lions. In Michigan, the state income tax rate is only 4.25 percent, meaning that Suh would contribute $637,500 to the state budget every year on a deal worth $15 million annually.