College athletics sees surge in nonprofits paying players

By JIM VERTUNO and PAT EATON-ROBB
Associated Press

The new world of college athletes getting paid for endorsements has created a rapidly expanding pop-up industry: Nonprofit collectives are being formed to set up athletes with deals and pay them to promote charities. The collectives are pitched as feel-good partnerships. But they also raise questions of whether their mission it to support charities or exist primarily to funnel money to athletes for a tax deduction. A bill has been filed in Congress to limit some of those tax breaks.