Some money costs more than it pays. If taking it dirties your name, it’s a bad deal at any price.

Certain payments come with an attachment that stays long after the money is gone. A reputation takes years to build and can be spent in an afternoon, and unlike money it cannot be earned back by working harder. The full price of a bad deal is rarely visible in the number being offered.

When something pays unusually well, ask what exactly is being paid for. If part of the answer is your willingness to be associated with it, price that honestly. Some offers are best declined quickly, before you start constructing the argument for why it would be fine.