Russell Wilson had a nightmare 2022 season and now 2023 just got off to a rocky start.
USA Today published a report of their six-month investigation into Russell Wilson’s charity foundation and the report shows that Wilson’s ‘Why Not You’ foundation was spending just 24.3 cents of every dollar on actual charity between between 2020 and 2021. The other 75.7 cents of every dollar was going to compensation for employees, administration costs, and other expenses.
Russell Wilson was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 2020. It is an NFL honor that’s awarded with and “emphasis on community service and philanthropy.”
Holy.
Foundation touted in 2019 to have raised $2.6 mil to benefit Seattle Children’s, but tax records showed it actually donated just $78k; & noted the golf tourney had never generated positive income w/ direct expenses soaring past $860,000 in 2019.https://t.co/z78brBjFmU
Report: Investigation has found that #Broncos QB Russell Wilson’s foundation has spent just 24.3 cents of every dollar on charitable activities in 2020 and 2021 combined.
The USA Today investigation, looked at the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations of past Walter Payton Man of the Year award recipients but it is Russell Wilson’s charity which has gained overnight attention.
Here is what they found regarding Russell Wilson:
The Russell Wilson Foundation, which does business as the Why Not You Foundation, reported it spent almost $600,000 — or just 24.3 cents of every dollar — on charitable activities in 2020 and 2021 combined and nearly twice as much, $1.1 million, on salaries and employee benefits in that span, according to federal tax records.
These expenses included $342,000 for an executive director and more than $430,000 for a second executive who also worked for the Wilson family office, the nonprofit confirmed, a relationship not disclosed on federal tax records, as required by law.
Other athletes investigated include 5 current and former Arizona Cardinals, J.J. Watt, Calais Campbell, Anquan Boldin, Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald.
Wilson is taking some heat on this situation on social media:
So, uh, potentially a big yikes here.
"If challenged, he said, there is a 'high probability' the IRS could conclude the salaries constitute excess benefit transactions and levy substantial penalties."https://t.co/v6E9TF9ART
This Russell Wilson shit is WILD! Either he’s a shady ass person , or the people he hired to run his foundation are shady. This is so sad pic.twitter.com/y2lczKLhst
