Jackson Jambalaya

Good. The bill deserved to fail. Giving tax exemptions to NIL money while teachers, nurses, cops, and everybody else still pays income tax was always bad policy and worse optics. Politicians love to talk about “everyone paying their fair share,” but suddenly that principle disappears when football boosters and recruiting gimmicks get involved. Mississippi taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing tax-free NIL deals just so a few schools can gain a recruiting edge. If the Legislature wants to talk about tax relief, start with the working people of this state—not a handful of college athletes cashing endorsement checks.

McMillian is a yes man shiller for the Speaker. Wonder who Jason White knows who gets NIL dollars?? He was smart enough NOT to offer this bill; Jonathan wasn't!! This, after his school choice vote will make McMillian a one-term Rep!!

Well said.

Are they not happy because they'd have to pay tax? Well pound sand is what I'd say.

This bill was only to create noise and distraction! Helen Keller could see that! 😎 Let’s create an issue and then after the noise, we’ll kill it and look like heroes!

"Let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes." Now Ole Miss and MSU know what the support looks like just in case it's needed in the future. It's tough but possible.

It’s scary that this bill passed the House. IDIOTS.

McMillian, like most of the redneck yeehaws in the House GOP, are just JWhite/donor yes men. They don’t actually think for themselves or their constituents.

Anti-NIL bills at the high school level are needed to push the black market out of youth sports.

That this was even considered tells us taxpayers a lot about what is on the minds of many legislators.

Congrats State and Ole Miss fans - you’ll continue to lose high level football recruits to TN and FL and TX schools that do not have an income tax. Those same folks hollering to their legislators about how unfair this bill was will be the first ones calling for Lebby’s head this Fall.

Hey 10:10, you are so right. Was this bill fair? No. Is college athletics fair to non athletes? Probably not. Now the universities in MS are less competitive NIL wise as compared to the schools in TN, FL, and TX. So if you were against this bill, and like college athletics, don't complain when your coach loses a player to a school from those states. Perception is reality in recruiting.

Mississippi State football will never be successful and that’s why it’s frustrating seeing the rest of us expected to subsidize it. This bill was born from a loser’s mentality syndrome, not unlike TDS.

Does the typical NIL money even reach the tax threshold to create a tax liability?

No kid is going to choose or not choose to play sports in Mississippi based on income tax.

We need to teach them in high school how to avoid debt and how to balance a checkbook, not how to avoid paying taxes.

Shanks needs to stick to things we really need in Mississippi, like a prohibition on jacking up the front end of trucks. At least he got that one passed.

Which legislator in which chamber will be the first to introduce a bill to exempt legislative pay and per diem from income tax?

No 18 year old cares about a 2%-3% state income tax. They just don’t. Kiffen sure didn’t worry about Louisiana’s income tax did he?

@ 10:53 - I think you meant to say, "Football in Mississippi will never be successful....".

And those dirt dumb clownish rednecks couldn't care less what we think. Shame on every member of the House that allowed this to even be drafted as a bill.

Sportsball makes me happy!!

The MS House is about as useless at this point as the US Senate. It appears both need new leadership. The fact this actually sailed through the MS House is concerning. The fact that my rep wrote this bill is vote-changing.

NIL.....what a farce. Is a free college education and everything that goes along with it not enough?

State income taxes didn't give Lane Kiffin one second's pause.

If the fans want better players, they should get off their asses and donate more money to their programs. Why in the hell should taxpayers not affiliated with either school be expected to fund the football program with their income tax??? Plain stupid.

Can I get an income tax subsidy from all of you for my hobby (which does not include college football)? The twisted logic of some of you is amazing. Maybe your schools should receive more funding to educate the uninformed like yourself.

You've lost you're mind if you think a high level recruit already paying 300k in federal taxes isn't concerned about losing another 40k to taxes if he signed with MS State over Tennessee, especially when these are kids who many don't have parents that make 40k a year at their jobs.

Damn right we should tax these kids! How dare they get money and not me! Take everything you can from these uber jock meatheads! They don't deserve anything but a roof over their heads anyway! "Oh wow, you play ball good" DAMN YOU!

Just make sure you don't tax my Christmas bonus come November or there'll be hell to pay, damn greedy governmenters.

The MS Dept of Revenue should make sure that players and coaches from other states pay Mississippi income taxes when their teams play in Oxford, Starkville, Hattiesburg, et al. After all, they earned their income for playing a game in Mississippi.

I've been paying taxes for most of 30 years to the state of Mississippi. I don't want to, but there is no alternative if you want to live here. It pisses me off that some legislators even thought this bill should be passed when you got actual essential professionals like me who never catch a break.

McMillan is my Rep. I'm going to thoroughly enjoy voting him out when the time comes.

10:10 and 10:44-

Does Ole Miss or Mississippi State gaining a highly recruited prospect directly improve my quality of life as a Mississippian?

Not saying I don't want our in-state schools to be competitive, but it's an absolute slap in the face to essentially say "we care more about NIL and college athletics than the livelihoods of Mississippi residents". You can get mad all you want, but it's about time Mississippi lawmakers stop focusing on shit that doesn't matter and handle the shit that will actually improve the quality of life for all Mississippians.

As a Mississippi State alum, fan, and donor, I would much rather see our elected officials dedicate their time and energy to improving lives, outcomes, and possibilities in our state rather than cater to "amateur" athletes in the pursuit of bragging rights. They (the athletes) wanted to be considered employees..... well, treat them like employees. They can pay taxes just like I can.

Y'all are on here acting like taxing NIL money will be the savior for all that ails us in Mississippi. Talking about a slap in the face and what about our teachers and nurses and all that nonsense. Face it, you just hate the fact that some athlete would get a break from paying a little into the state coffers. It's not the returns at all. How do I know? Because not a single one of you posting seems to realize how insignificant the tax dollars on NIL money would be in the grand scheme of a state budget. Said budget is over $7 billion, excluding Federal money. The taxes on $100 million of NIL money (if it ever even got to that level), would be around $4 million. Double that, just for argument's sake. That would amount to roughly $100,000 in NIL money for every single Division 1 and JuCo athlete, male and female, in the state. If you think that is happening, you are absolutely insane. Or you are simply willing to ignore simple economic math to make an emotional appeal. You probably got picked last for kickball or were in the jazz band or something. ( last part added just to stir up the hornets' nest a little more)

Wrong. It's the principle of it. It's the same reason people get mad about SLRP. SLRP is less than $20 million, a bare micro drop in the bucket compared to the PERS $35 billion portfolio. Closing SLRP does nothing for PERS. Why do so many of us want to abolish SLRP? Because it's a double standard that gives special treatment to politicians who most of the time don't don't do their jobs.

I wish I thought the supporters of this farce would face any competition at the next primary.
But they won't.
They will easily win re-election all while refusing to actually advocate for their constituents wants. I've just accepted it as the norm here.

Exactly x1000. And all you goobers who had been asking that they be paid as employees can just moan and pout and relish the fact that you won the argument.

Nope. Their employer at the time of the game is not a Mississippi venue. That only works in professional sports above the college level.

Who gets a Christmas bonus? You evidently don't or you would know that bonuses are taxable as income.

Here's another point...there is no money being taxed at the moment except for the income that is being used to pay these NIL deals. So nothing is being "taken away". Money isn't being diverted from any state-funded entity. Zero minus zero is...Bueller...Bueller...ZERO!
In fact, it may help create wealth when they spend the money ridiculously while they are in school. Because we all know how phenomenal athletes are with wealth management. Yes, "trickle down" but it's not an inaccurate position. Have money will spend.

It's the message and the principle, dumb-bunny. Like SLRP, which isn't a drop in the PERS bucket. Just the damned principle, the message, the precedent, the carve-out.

10:10 What about Louisiana and Alabama ? Do you think they will also lose talent to those states ? My guess is a kid is gonna play where he wants to play regardless of a state tax or not.

Excellent comment at 10:14, KF.

Seems like anyone with a good speaking voice, looks smart and able to lie while looking you in the eye can be a politician these days. I would love to run for elected office. Not sure where to start in the process.

3:08 You obviously haven't met many members of the Mississippi legislature. "Good speaking voice"? "Looks smart"? Totally unnecessary. It ain't that hard.