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?
“That’s the ultimate question,” said Brian Mittendorf, an Ohio State accounting professor with a focus on nonprofits. His school is one of dozens across the country with affiliated nonprofit collectives setting up athletes with deals to work with charities….