Google asks that any link involving payment be marked rel="sponsored" (or nofollow). Paid links that pass ranking signals violate Google's spam policies.
Marking a link sponsored doesn't hurt the page that links out; it just tells search engines not to count it as an endorsement.
Why it matters when you launch
If you pay for a featured placement in a directory, the link may be marked sponsored. Judge paid placements on the traffic and audience they bring, not on SEO value.