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I've been hearing a little bit of scuttle butt that Doug Baldwin might hang it up and retire. He had offseason surgeries on his knee and shoulder. Pete said as late as Feb. 28th that they expect him to be available for the start of training camp, but that's about all I can dig up.

His production have been in decline for the past several years, and even when healthy, he's been replaced by Tyler Lockett as Russell's go-to receiver. His number of targets are way down. Clearly his best days are behind him.

What have you guys been hearing?

He comes across as a smart guy and I get the impression that he has other things in his life he wants to do.
His salary total for his career is about $40 million and if he's been smart he's probably got $25 to $30 million
considering possible investments to fall back on. Just a wild guess on my part, but we do know his current contract will
give him $10 million this year and next.

I heard the same comments at the end of last year and maybe he's getting to the point where he's wondering if the grind
is all worth it when the physical toll is taken into account. His role has been reduced a little, in part because of injury
and also because Lockett has emerged as a real threat being on the same page as Wilson.

Some of the comments I heard at the end of the year was to enjoy watching him play because it might be the last
we see of him as a player. I hope not, but I respect his decision to leave on his terms whenever that might be.

NorthHawk wrote:He comes across as a smart guy and I get the impression that he has other things in his life he wants to do.
His salary total for his career is about $40 million and if he's been smart he's probably got $25 to $30 million
considering possible investments to fall back on. Just a wild guess on my part, but we do know his current contract will
give him $10 million this year and next.

I heard the same comments at the end of last year and maybe he's getting to the point where he's wondering if the grind
is all worth it when the physical toll is taken into account. His role has been reduced a little, in part because of injury
and also because Lockett has emerged as a real threat being on the same page as Wilson.

Some of the comments I heard at the end of the year was to enjoy watching him play because it might be the last
we see of him as a player. I hope not, but I respect his decision to leave on his terms whenever that might be.

Agreed on all counts. Baldwin would surely have some very good options for life after football, and yea, he impresses me of being more of an intellectual than your standard dumb jock (like Terry "Goober" Bradshaw").

And as you eluded to, the thought of sustaining a life altering injury has to be something a person like him would have foremost in his mind. Baldwin plays in a very high risk position, so maybe with the injuries he's had to deal with last season, he might decide to cut his losses and get out.

If he does retire, he'd be a cinch for our ROH.

Doug should do what he has to to walk away from football without too many issues.

Aseahawkfan wrote:Doug should do what he has to to walk away from football without too many issues.

I agree! He has done his bit for King and Country! I think he should be in the Ring of Honor!

I certainly don't want to push him out the door, but it's apparent that his career has peaked and now he's going to have to come back after having had a couple of surgeries. As an outsider looking in, it sure seems like the right time to hang it up.

Outside of Largent (duh!) and perhaps Brian Blades, I can't think of a Hawks receiver that has made equivalent contributions. We haven't had that many true stars at wide receiver.

NorthHawk wrote:He comes across as a smart guy and I get the impression that he has other things in his life he wants to do.
His salary total for his career is about $40 million and if he's been smart he's probably got $25 to $30 million
considering possible investments to fall back on. Just a wild guess on my part, but we do know his current contract will
give him $10 million this year and next.

I heard the same comments at the end of last year and maybe he's getting to the point where he's wondering if the grind
is all worth it when the physical toll is taken into account. His role has been reduced a little, in part because of injury
and also because Lockett has emerged as a real threat being on the same page as Wilson.

Some of the comments I heard at the end of the year was to enjoy watching him play because it might be the last
we see of him as a player. I hope not, but I respect his decision to leave on his terms whenever that might be.

After paying alternative minimum taxes plus the state taxes, I'd be surprised if he netted $20M from that $40M.

I expect he would have made some money from endorsements and investments.

Why would he pay AMT when the game income is 'earned' with a paycheck from the team, not as passive income? I'm sure he's also his own LLC for the outside income, which allows for a lot of the overhead and multiple tax advantages over just having 'income'. With a good investment strategy, that a good Stanford grad should of had since his second contract, he probably has depreciable investments like rentals apartments or investments in Real Estate Trusts to offset the income/profits.

idhawkman wrote:After paying alternative minimum taxes plus the state taxes, I'd be surprised if he netted $20M from that $40M.

Washington doesn't have an income tax, so he wouldn't pay any state tax beyond sales/real estate taxes.

RiverDog wrote:
Washington doesn't have an income tax, so he wouldn't pay any state tax beyond sales/real estate taxes.

I’m not 100% sure about football, but I am 100% sure about baseball. For tax purposes your game checks are paid based on the state you played in that week. I don’t know enough about the details but I assume signing bonuses and roster bonuses all fall in your teams home state, but game checks are taxed in the state you play that week.

RiverDog wrote:Washington doesn't have an income tax, so he wouldn't pay any state tax beyond sales/real estate taxes.

mykc14 wrote:I’m not 100% sure about football, but I am 100% sure about baseball. For tax purposes your game checks are paid based on the state you played in that week. I don’t know enough about the details but I assume signing bonuses and roster bonuses all fall in your teams home state, but game checks are taxed in the state you play that week.

Good point, that's something I totally forgot about. I'm going a little off topic, but that's always been a thorn in my side, that Oregon will tax a Washington worker for services performed in their state yet when an Oregonian comes into Washington to buy something, we don't charge him a sales tax.

RiverDog wrote:
Good point, that's something I totally forgot about. I'm going a little off topic, but that's always been a thorn in my side, that Oregon will tax a Washington worker for services performed in their state yet when an Oregonian comes into Washington to buy something, we don't charge him a sales tax.

Yeah that has always been annoying. Also, if I buy something like a car in Oregon I still have to pay sales tax in Washington.

Apparently Doug Baldwin needs more surgery.
Core muscle issue.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2 ... e-surgery/

jshawaii22 wrote:Why would he pay AMT when the game income is 'earned' with a paycheck from the team, not as passive income? I'm sure he's also his own LLC for the outside income, which allows for a lot of the overhead and multiple tax advantages over just having 'income'. With a good investment strategy, that a good Stanford grad should of had since his second contract, he probably has depreciable investments like rentals apartments or investments in Real Estate Trusts to offset the income/profits.

AMT is not a passive income thing. Here's an article on who pays it. https://www.thebalance.com/alternative-minimum-tax-amt-who-has-to-pay-3305784