In the news: Why new NFL players' nonprofit compliance rules are "common sense"
AZCentral.com — The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award, the league’s most prestigious individual honor, recognizes a player for excellence on and off the field, with an emphasis on community service and philanthropy.
The winner receives a bronze statuette of a football player wearing a cape, a special patch to wear on his jersey for the rest of his career and a more than quarter-million-dollar donation — most recently up to $265,000 — to his charity of choice, often one the player founded.
The other 31 nominees, one from each team, receive up to $55,000 donations.
And for the first time, the NFL said it will ensure that the charities founded by the men it honors are following basic nonprofit laws.
The change comes after an eye-opening offseason conversation with [NFL executive vice president of player operations Troy] Vincent, who learned that the past two Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winners had charities noncompliant with nonprofit laws, and that his own nonprofit had its corporate status revoked for more than a decade. [...]
Nonprofit experts explain basic legal requirements, say NFL vetting award winners' charities 'sounds like common sense'
It is safer, easier and more efficient for athletes to partner with established nonprofits and use their celebrity to boost impact because the infrastructure is already in place, according to nonprofit experts.
Many had called on the NFL to ensure that the charities founded by Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award winners were compliant with state and federal nonprofit laws.
“Check that big, huge box before even considering somebody to be a Walter Payton award winner,” said Arizona State University professor Robert Ashcraft, the executive director of the Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation.
“That just almost sounds like common sense, don’t you think?”
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