College Athletics Sees Surge in Nonprofits Paying Players

Texas players sing "The Eyes Of Texas," after defeating Kansas State 22-17 in an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, on Nov. 26, 2021. The new business world of college athletes getting paid for endorsements has created a rapidly expanding pop-up industry: nonprofits formed to set up athletes with deals that pay them to promote charities. Among the first was Horns With Heart, a nonprofit set up to aid offensive linemen at the University of Texas in 2021. A bill filed Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022, would eliminate the tax deduction for individuals and for specific contributions that are then paid to athletes for name, image and likeness deals. Chuck Burton/AP Photo

The new world of college athletes getting paid for endorsements has created a rapidly expanding pop-up industry: Brand new nonprofit “collectives” that pay athletes to promote charities.

The collectives are pitched as feel-good partnerships, but they also raise questions. Is their mission to support charities and their communities or do they exist primarily to funnel money to athletes—in some cases tens of thousands of dollars—and give a school’s donors a tasty tax break?