The problem IMO is that affiliate links in the hands of entrepreneurial types will get ugly pretty fast. There's simply more money to be made when you're not be

The problem IMO is that affiliate links in the hands of entrepreneurial types will get ugly pretty fast. There's simply more money to be made when you're not being objective about what you're recommending: just pitch the highest paying affiliate link as the best option available. And contrary to what you are proposing (mention it's a 'sponsored link') you'll often see that people who place these affiliate links in their articles/overview-sites are explicitly stating to be objective (or having the compiled the best overview possible, etc). This of course because it increases their conversions.