Kyle Kuzma rips professional athletes for complaining about taxes

The last thing any person with a regular nine-to-five job wants to hear is a millionaire complaining about how they don’t have enough millions. And, at least in the case of Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma, it would appear that even millionaires don’t want to hear other millionaires complaining about how they don’t have enough millions.

We’ve seen it time and time again over the years, where a professional athlete will tell you the amount of their contract isn’t as much as you think it is because of taxes and other expenses, which is not a secret to anyone who pays taxes.

And there are even some, like New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., who will suggest that a five-year, $100 million contract isn’t enough to last a lifetime.

“(Not gonna lie) it’s exhausting hearing athletes break down how their millions ‘aren’t really millions’ after taxes and fees,” Kuzma wrote on X. “40M after taxes is still 40M. The real issue isn’t the system, it’s lifestyle creep. Nobody told you to live like a king, buy 5 cars, or move with a 10‑person entourage. Modest is allowed.”

When someone in his replies pointed out how us mere mortals have to pay taxes and have expenses to deal with, also, Kuzma made an even better point.

“And they say it like they are going to get empathy from regular folks that are using credit rewards points for groceries right now,” he said. “Wild.”

Kuzma simply hits the nail on the head.

Taxes and expenses suck, no doubt, but professional athletes can make their money last a lot longer by living more modestly instead of spending a ton on a lavish lifestyle.

Every athlete knows the time will come when their careers end and the crazy sums of money will stop rolling in, so they need to move like that.

<

Mar 20, 2011; Milwaukee, WI, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) looks on during the game against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. The Bucks defeated the Knicks 100-95. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Beckham made his comments on The Pivot Podcast late last year, and former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony actually backed him up during an episode of the 7PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony podcast.

“That’s $100 million, but it’s not really $100 million over a five-year span. You [are] talking 58% to 60% or 48%, half [of] your check [for taxes], so that 10 goes to five over five years. Now, within that five, you’ve got other taxes that you’ve gotta pay. You’ve got taxes alone that’s gonna hit you, boom, you can’t do nothing about that,” Anthony said.

“Then you [have] got to live. You [have] got to get a house, you’re gonna take care of your moms, you [have] got your agency fee, so you’ve got all of this s*** that’s happening within that $5 million,” he added.

Yes, taxes and expenses aren’t fun, but everyone deals with them and they are a lot easier to deal with when you have millions of dollars.

The key, as Kuzma says, is living modestly instead of spending recklessly. Unfortunately, not all professional athletes live by that rule and it leads to a bad ending far too often.

<

Oct 28, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Bucks forward Kyle Kuzma (18) warms up before game against the New York Knicks at Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

According to Spotrac, Kuzma has earned over $127 million over the course of his career when including his $19.4 million salary for this coming season.

But, you see, it’s not really $127 million because…