New England Patriots’ cornerback Malcolm Butler is living the dream. He had arguably the biggest play in Super Bowl XLIX; an interception at the Patriots’ one yard line that essentially sealed the victory and turned the Seattle Seahawks away from scoring the winning touchdown that would have given the Seahawks their second consecutive championship.
Quarterback Tom Brady was named Most Valuable Player of the game. With that, he was awarded a new Chevrolet Colorado truck. Super Bowl MVPs are commonly awarded some type of vehicle from General Motors, one of the major sponsors of the game. In years past, MVPs drove off in Escalades and Corvettes.
Despite being named MVP, Brady is reportedly trying to give the truck to Butler as a reward for sealing the Patriots’ fourth Super Bowl crown. He said on a Boston sports radio show that he would “love to” give the truck to him and is “trying to make that work.”
Essentially, the “work” may be in avoiding the tax consequences that may come about from gifting the truck to Butler. While it remains to be seen whether he will be able to do so, Brady would likely have to consider how much of his lifetime gift exclusion that he has already used before making such a donation. Also, there is a question as to whether Malcolm Butler will have to pay sales tax once he registers the vehicle. Like most game show winners, there is sales tax to be paid on gifts like these. So we will have to see if Butler will be using part of his game check to pay for it, or whether Brady will fit the bill for that as well.