I doubt they can payless tax than someone else on the same wage overall but by sports income averaging they can lessen the pain in high income years. I think the loophole in siphoning some of it off to separate trusts and the like has been closed.Someone who is an accountant should explain it properly, but professional athletes pay tax differently.
I googled it once, but way too complicated for me. Suffice to say, they pay tax differently than your average person, and take home more than someone on the same wage with a “normal” job.
Obviously accountants can get creative in finding deductible items that you're using to make yourself the best possible sportsperson you can be but I think any proposition that the more you earn you could somehow get bigger tax advantages is a bit of a furphy if you're doing the same thing as another player earning half as much.
Nonetheless the more you earn the more you end up with in your pocket regardless of whatever tax you pay. So I guess to some people that could be a big factor.