Unintended consequences: How NIL in college sports has raised questions about nonprofits
The entrance of name, image and likeness deals in college sports has raised questions about what it means to be a tax-exempt charitable organization
NEW YORK (AP) — Three years into the new age of college sports, where athletes are allowed to profit from their successes through name, image and likeness deals, everyone is still trying to find out what the new normal will be.
Greg Sankey, commissioner of the Southeastern Conference, called it “uncharted waters of change” in July at SEC Media Days in Dallas, as college football season approaches. "Anytime you go through a reset, it is difficult,” said Sankey, whose conference not only includes perennial powerhouses Georgia and Alabama, but, as of this year, Texas and Oklahoma, as well.
Those uncharted waters aren't limited to football. The complicated, often murky, world of NIL has touched not just every corner of college sports, but also had an unanticipated effect on the charitable organizations that popped up to help players secure these sponsorship deals.
The basic question NIL raises for nonprofits is: What is charitable about paying college players?
