Short version: Take out the median cut of about 20 percent that a survey run for ESPN found, then self-employment tax the way IRS Schedule SE figures it. $68,696 of a $100,000 deal is left before income tax. With no cut, it's $85,870.
$68,696. That's what a $100,000 deal comes down to after two cuts that are on the record, and before a dollar of income tax. Here's each step, and the line on the form it comes from.
One deal is enough to make your name a business. The IRS's Taxpayer Advocate says student-athletes are independent contractors for tax purposes, and their deals go on Schedule C, Profit or Loss from Business.
Step one: the cut, about 20 percent
In December, Student-Athlete Insights surveyed 1,000 college athletes at ESPN's request. 18 percent said someone had helped them with deals while they were in high school.
About 67 percent of the athletes who answered said they'd agreed to give that person a share of what they earned. The median cut was about 20 percent, ESPN reported on February 23, 2026.
Median means half gave up less and half gave up more. ESPN's lead case was asked for 25 percent. We use 20 because it's the middle of what was reported.
On a $100,000 deal, 20 percent is $20,000. That leaves $80,000. Here the cut comes off the full $100,000; some agreements take it from a smaller number, and our post on gross or net covers that.
Step two: self-employment tax, line by line
An employee splits Social Security and Medicare tax with the employer. A self-employed person pays both halves. The IRS puts the rate at 15.3 percent: 12.4 for Social Security and 2.9 for Medicare.
It isn't figured on the whole deal. It starts from Schedule C's net profit, and the fee has its own line there. Line 10 is "commissions and fees." So the tax starts from $80,000, not $100,000.
Here's the walk on the current Schedule SE, the 2025 form, with no other income and no other costs.
| Line | What the form does | This deal |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule C, line 10 | Commissions and fees paid | $20,000 |
| Schedule C, line 31 | Net profit | $80,000 |
| Schedule SE, line 4a | Net profit times 92.35% | $73,880 |
| Schedule SE, line 10 | Times 12.4%, Social Security | $9,161.12 |
| Schedule SE, line 11 | Times 2.9%, Medicare | $2,142.52 |
| Schedule SE, line 12 | Self-employment tax | $11,303.64 |
Rounded to whole dollars, that's $11,304. Take it from $80,000 and $68,696 is left.
The Social Security part has a ceiling. On the 2025 form it's $176,100 of earnings, and the IRS lists $184,500 for 2026. $73,880 is well under both, so the full 12.4 percent applies either year.
Step three: what Leave takes
0 percent. Leave costs $39 a month after 14 days free, or Lite at $15 a month. The price doesn't move with the size of the deal, so on this one the line for Leave reads $0.
The whole walk
| Step | Minus | Left |
|---|---|---|
| The deal | $100,000 | |
| The cut, about 20% (ESPN survey) | $20,000 | $80,000 |
| Self-employment tax (Schedule SE) | $11,304 | $68,696 |
| Leave | $0 | $68,696 |
The same deal with no cut
With no fee, Schedule C's net profit is the full $100,000. Line 4a makes it $92,350, and 15.3 percent of that is $14,129.55, or $14,130 in whole dollars.
That leaves $85,870 before income tax. The cut costs $20,000 up front and lowers self-employment tax by $2,826, so the two bottom lines end up $17,174 apart.
Twenty percent of $100,000 is $20,000. By the bottom line, it's a $17,174 gap.
What isn't counted yet
Income tax. It depends on the rest of your year: other pay, other costs, where you live, whether a parent claims you. So we stop at the line before it.
Two things from the forms carry into it. Half the self-employment tax, $5,652 here, is a deduction on Schedule 1 when adjusted gross income is figured. And most states tax income too, at their own rates.
Your own numbers depend on your situation. This is one deal, one cut and no other costs, worked the way the forms work it.
What Leave does with this
Upload the agreement and Leave reads it back in plain words: the amount, when it's paid, any fee someone takes, and what the fee is taken of. Home keeps the dates.
Leave takes 0 percent of anything you sign. Every source is linked at the bottom of this post. You decide what to sign.
Questions people ask
Does a fee come off before self-employment tax?
When it is a cost of earning the money, yes. Schedule C has a line for it, line 10, commissions and fees. Self-employment tax starts from Schedule C's net profit, so a $20,000 fee lowers the amount it is figured on by $20,000.
Why is the tax figured on 92.35 percent and not the whole profit?
Because line 4a of Schedule SE says so. It multiplies net profit by 92.35 percent, and the 15.3 percent applies to that. 92.35 is 100 minus 7.65, which is half of 15.3.
Does Leave take a share of the deal?
No. Leave takes 0 percent of any deal. It costs $39 a month after 14 days free, or Lite at $15 a month, and the price is the same whatever the deal is worth.
Be your own agent. Leave.