This is not accurate. In Perez vs Commissioner (2015) the tax courts determined that the risk of "pain and suffering" agreed to in a contract doesn't exempt the compensation received from being taxable income.
"We conclude by noting that the result we reach today by taking a close look at the language and history of section 104 [pg. 63] is also a reasonable one. We see no limit on the mischief that ruling in Perez's favor might cause: A professional boxer could argue that some part of the payments he received for his latest fight is excludable because they are payments for his bruises, cuts, and nosebleeds. A hockey player could argue that a portion of his million-dollar salary is allocable to the chipped teeth he invariably suffers during his career. And the same would go for the brain injuries suffered by football players and the less-noticed bodily damage daily endured by working men and women on farms and ranches, in mines, or on fishing boats. We don't doubt that some portion of the compensation paid all these people reflects the risk that they will feel pain and suffering, but it's a risk of pain and suffering that they agree to before they begin their work. And that makes it taxable compensation and not excludable damages."
