FOR PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES
(Because your signing bonus didn't come with a tax manual.)
Your career has a short window and a long tail of tax forms. Every away game adds a state to your filing list, every 1099 adds a self-employment tax bill, and every April the surprises show up all at once. Here's how to pay estimated taxes online correctly, before the IRS finds the gap first.
Book Free ReviewPhoenix · September 5, 2026 · 5 min read
The numbers athletes are actually working with
10
states one client filed part-year returns in last season
“I stopped guessing what I owed and started knowing, every quarter, before the deadline instead of after the penalty.”
Marcus T. · NFL defensive back, 4th season
EVERY AWAY GAME IS A TAX RETURN
The jock tax follows you from city to city. Every state you suited up in wants a slice, and the paperwork multiplies faster than your frequent flyer miles. Most athletes find out how bad it is when the bill arrives, not before.
Do this today: Today: list every state you played a game in this season. That list is your filing list.
THE FEELING YOU'RE ACTUALLY CHASING
No spreadsheet gymnastics. No agent's cousin doing your books on the side. Just a number you trust, updated every quarter, so tax season stops living rent-free in your head during the season you're actually trying to focus on.
Do this today: Today: ask your CPA when they last updated your estimated tax number.
$41,600
average penalty and overpayment corrected in year one for athlete clients
Amadae client reviews, 2025
THE MATH NOBODY SHOWS YOU
Multi-state jock tax and self-employment tax on 1099 endorsement income stack fast when nobody is actively managing them. The gap between DIY and managed isn't small. It's tuition, a down payment, a real dent in a career-window income.
Do this today: Today: pull your last three 1099s and add up how many states are listed.
What's left from a $250K endorsement year
Illustrative, single filer, federal plus average state jock tax
Want all of this handled for you, for one flat monthly price?
Book Free ReviewFree 30-minute review. No pitch deck.
THE FIX, NOT THE LECTUREAMADAE
Real accountants track your jock tax states, calculate and pay your estimated taxes online every quarter, and flag signing bonus and endorsement income before it becomes a surprise. Books, payroll, and tax strategy in one place, flat fee, no hourly clock running.
Source: IRS: Estimated Taxes
Who's actually watching your quarterly taxes
| DIY | Agent's CPA | Amadae | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterly estimated payments | Extra fee | ||
| Multi-state jock tax filings | Sometimes | ||
| Signing bonus tax planning | |||
| Real-time tax reserve tracking |
PROOF, NOT A PITCH
Marcus plays defensive back. His accountant used to be his agent's guy, handling four clients the same way, on paper vouchers. Neither one caught the underpayment building across three states until it was already a bill.
Do this today: Today: ask your current CPA how many states they filed for you last year, and when.
“I stopped guessing what I owed and started knowing, every quarter, before the deadline instead of after the penalty.”
Marcus T.
NFL defensive back, 4th season
Corrected a $22,600 estimated tax underpayment before it became a penalty
THE CLOCK YOU CAN'T PAUSE
Q3 estimated taxes are due September 15, and the penalty clock starts the next day. It's the same deadline whether you're a rookie or ten seasons in, and it's the one most athletes forget between training camp and the opener.
Do this today: Today: confirm your Q3 payment is scheduled, not just budgeted.
Source: IRS: Estimated Taxes
BONUS: THE WEEK-ONE SETUPAMADAE
This is what Amadae sets up before your first game of the season. No more finding out in April what you owed back in September. Just a system built for a career with a short window and a lot riding on it.
What Amadae sets up in week one
10
states one client filed part-year returns in last season
$41,600
average penalty and overpayment corrected in year one
Sept 15
Q3 estimated tax deadline for this filing year
$249/mo
flat starting price for real accountants, no hourly clock
Client figures are Amadae data, 2025. Deadline per IRS Estimated Taxes guidance.
Built for athletes, not adapted for them.
No long-term contract. Your books stay yours, whenever you leave.
Plans from
$249/mo
If you make $40K - $69K. Flat, no hourly bills.
Straight answers
Yes. The IRS supports online payment through Direct Pay and EFTPS for quarterly estimated taxes, and most state tax agencies offer equivalent portals. Online payment removes the postmark risk that causes a lot of late-payment penalties.
Agent-recommended accountants often manage several clients the same way, which works fine until your income structure gets specific: multi-state road games, 1099 endorsement checks, a signing bonus. That's when the generic approach starts costing real money.
That short window is exactly why it matters now. Every quarter without a real system is a quarter of career-window income exposed to penalties and overpayment you can't get back once the season's over.
You can still catch up, and doing it correctly now stops the penalty from compounding further. The sooner it's corrected, the smaller the final number, but the fix has to happen before the next deadline, not after.
Every quarter you go without a real system is a quarter closer to another surprise bill. Get your estimated payments handled online, on time, by someone actually watching, before the next deadline hits.
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