The $17.8 million in question is regarding the signing bonus of US$15.25 million during the first year of his seven-year contract, and experts claim this bonus was the deciding factor that let Tavares sign with the Leafs. Now, it appears that signing bonus has backfired on Tavares.
This is proving to be a big problem for Canadian pro sports teams in terms of attracting big name players to come play in the country of Canada. The amount of taxes that athletes have to pay in Canada is higher than anywhere else in North America, if not in the world. That's not the news Canadian sports fans want to be hearing right now.