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Nikola Jokić, the Denver Nuggets center and three-time NBA most valuable player, will be among the biggest earners hit by Colorado's new graduated income tax, with his $59 million salary for the 2026-27 season falling well inside the state's new top bracket.
Colorado voters approved Amendment 87 in the Nov. 3 election, replacing the state's 4.4% flat income tax with a graduated system. The Associated Press called the race on Nov. 6, when the measure led with 51.4% of the vote. A rival measure, Proposition 136, which would have capped the rate at 4.4%, was defeated.
The new schedule taxes income above $500,000 at 7.4%, income above $750,000 at 7.9% and income above $1 million at 8.4%, while cutting taxes on the first $100,000 a year. Supporters expect it to raise about $2 billion a year, which must go to schools, health care and child care.
What it means for Jokić
Jokić will "certainly exceed the threshold next year," Sportico said in an analysis of how the change will hit professional athletes in the state. His 2026-27 contract pays him $59 million.
At the new rates, almost all of that salary would be taxed 4 percentage points higher than under the old flat rate. Applied to the full $59 million, that works out to about $2.3 million more a year in state tax. His actual increase is likely to be smaller, because players pay tax in the other states where they play road games, and Colorado gives residents credit for taxes paid elsewhere.
The increase rises steeply with income. A household earning $75,000 will pay $275 less a year, a family earning $550,000 will pay $1,175 more, and someone earning $10 million will owe about $376,000 more.
Business groups oppose the change. "We don't need to do things to diminish our economic competitiveness," said Leslie Oliver of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce. The National Federation of Independent Business called the result "disappointing for Colorado's small business owners and taxpayers."
The Nuggets' cornerstone
Jokić, 31, is the cornerstone of the Nuggets, the franchise he led to its first NBA championship in 2023. Drafted 41st overall in 2014 out of Serbia, he has become one of the league's highest-paid players.
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