Sports Professionals

Whether it is football, baseball, basketball, hockey, tennis, or golf, professional sports continue to capture the hearts and loyalties of an ever-increasing fan population throughout the country and the world. The successful marketing of leagues, teams, and tournaments has continued to propel professional sports into a multi-billion dollar industry. And as the popularity of the industry continues to grow, related player salaries, bonuses, and winnings reach new levels together with an increase in the complexities of player contracts, incentives, and endorsements.

The current financial rewards enjoyed by the professional athlete warrants a need for careful financial stewardship and planning. We at Halverson & Company recognize that a sometimes short window of opportunity exists for these athletes to properly manage this compensation for the future. We have developed valuable experience in working with many professional athletes, coaches and executives in providing sound financial and tax-related services to meet this need. We have been instrumental in planning for the particular issues that they encounter, including contract negotiations, signing bonuses, multi-state tax matters, and endorsement agreements.

We have assisted and provided services to players, coaches and executives affiliated with the Baltimore Ravens, Jacksonville Jaquars, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills, and Oakland Raiders of the NFL, and the Boston Celtics and Utah Jazz of the NBA. Income and Franchise Tax Planning and Preparation Tax planning and preparation form a winning combination for our successful individual clients. The best time to save money on your taxes is before they are due, and this requires expert planning. By keeping current on new tax laws and legislation, we are in a position to identify key tax opportunities that minimize both your current and future tax liabilities. We provide one-on-one pro-active tax counsel to meet your unique needs throughout the year, not just at tax time. We are prepared to assist you in any of the following compliance and planning areas:

	Individual Tax
	“S” Corporation Tax

Multi-State Tax Preparation
Because of the significant increase in professional sports player salaries and winnings, state taxing authorities have become much more interested in obtaining, what they believe is, their fair share of tax on this compensation. Allocation of multi-million dollar compensation based on duty days or performance days in a particular state can be significant. We have significant experience in planning for and minimizing the impact of this state allocation process and in planning for the reduction in overall state income taxes.

Federal and State Tax Return Audit Representation
From time to time, individual tax returns are selected for examination by the respective taxing authority. This should not be a time for alarm but should warrant careful interactions to minimize the exposure and inconvenience. We are experienced in our interactions with taxing authority personnel and are prepared to assist or represent you in connection with these matters.

Budgeting and Forecasting
When you generate multiple streams of income from a variety of sources and have a large variety of expenditures, pulling the entire picture together can be difficult. We are able to forecast and evaluate the timing and the amounts of your income and expenses to help you determine when and how you should make the important decisions to reinvest your funds, make significant purchases, or transfer assets to family members.

Retirement Planning Retirement planning is a long-term science that requires determination of a variety of assumptions and consideration of many different options and formal plans. Our significant experience in this area allows us to help you objectively make those assumptions and consider the financial and tax implications of the retirement plans that best fit your situation. We can also project the expected returns of various options to help you budget for retirement.

Transferring Wealth
The eventual process of transferring wealth can be one of the most complex and confusing legal events an executor, survivor, or heir can experience, especially at a time when they may also have a high level of emotional tension. We can assist you in structuring your estate so that you can minimize both the difficulty of transferring your assets to family and charity and the portion of your estate that pays for professional fees and taxes.

Personal Accounting
Your financial decisions can only be as sound as the information you use to make them. Your ability to determine the financial performance of your assets and their current status requires accurate record keeping and reliable and flexible financial software. We can assist you in designing processes to keep your finances at your fingertips.