Mortgages for pro athletes in California.
Lenders generally count contract income by reading the contract: the pay it commits to, the time left on it and your history of earnings. A playing career is short and the pay is uneven: a contract, a signing bonus, a season. Sam Batayneh works with athletes and sports professionals across California and explains, plainly and quietly, how lenders read that income.
What makes sports income different.
A contract is not a salary, and lenders don’t read it like one.
Contract income
A contract sets what you are paid and for how long. Lenders read the contract itself: what is fixed, what depends on performance, and how much time is left.
Signing bonuses
A bonus that has already been paid is usually treated as money in the bank. It can help with the cash needed to buy, but it is not counted as income that repeats.
Seasons and moves
Pay often arrives only during the season, and a new contract can mean a new city on short notice. The calendar matters when you plan a purchase.
How lenders generally look at contract income.
Each lender sets its own rules. These are the questions most of them ask.
What is fixed
Lenders generally ask for the full signed contract and look at the amount it commits to pay. Pay that depends on performance or other conditions may be counted in part or not at all.
How long it continues
Lenders want to see that income is likely to continue. A contract with little time left can be harder to use than one with years remaining.
Savings
On larger loans, lenders often look closely at the savings you will have left after closing. With a short earning window, savings can carry a lot of weight.
How you will use the home
A main home, a second home and a rental each have different rules. Lenders ask which it is, and where you live during the season and after it.
Other income
Endorsement and appearance income is usually treated as self-employment income, shown on tax returns over time.
What to have on hand.
You, or someone you authorize, can gather these. Your list may differ; Sam will say exactly what is needed.
- The contract. The full signed agreement, with any amendments.
- Pay records. Recent pay statements, W-2s and 1099s.
- Tax returns. Usually the last two years.
- Accounts. Recent statements for bank and investment accounts.
- Your team. Who may speak for you (agent, business manager, CPA), with a signed authorization.
Programs to ask Sam about.
Larger purchases usually mean a jumbo loan. If part of your income is self-employment income, ask about OriginPoint’s Bank Statement loans as well.
Program names are OriginPoint’s. Which one fits depends on your own file, and naming a program here is not a promise that a loan will be approved.
Plain answers.
How is contract or signing-bonus income counted?
Can I buy during the off-season or in a new city?
What if my career is short?
Can my business manager handle the paperwork?
General education only. Each lender sets its own rules, and they change. Nothing here is a promise that a loan will be approved or of any terms. This is not tax, legal or investment advice: for those questions, ask your own CPA, attorney or business manager.
Limits where you’re buying.
Each page has the county’s 2026 limit and what is different there.
Buying around a season?
Tell Sam your timeline and who speaks for you. Sam will lay out the steps in plain words.