College athletics has become massively popular among Americans over the past 30 years. This popularity has resulted in increased revenues for the NCAA and the colleges that compete; this increased revenue sparked the debate on whether or not college athletes should be compensated for more than just their athletic scholarships. At this point in time no college athletes are being legally compensated for their participation in their college athletic program. According to NCAA rules it is illegal to get paid for competing in an athletic program through the college. A common thing for these athletes is to be paid under the table or being compensated “illegally.” Many athletes find it difficult to stay in school with tuition prices increasing …show more content…
every year. The common consensus for this topic is that these athletes should be paid and compensated for their participation in college athletic programs. But for the purpose of this essay I will be playing devil’s advocate and explain the stance for each side of the topic. There are multiple arguments as to why college athletes should be paid.
Athletes play an active role in the promotion of activities like the NCAA organization but do not benefit from the profits that are generated. This can be viewed as exploitation and is therefore unethical. Student athletes should be compensated for their work, as they are the sole reason for the Athletic Program’s surplus in revenue.
Another common argument is that full-ride scholarships given to the best athletes do not actually cover all their expenses, a lot of these students while being respected and publicly recognized still fall very near the poverty line.
Another extremely important reason to pay college athletes is that paying college athletes would help entice them to finish their college degree. If athletes are paid to play, not only can they cover some of their college expenses that scholarships couldn’t they will continue to want to play because of monetary value of it.
Logistics wise it would be very simple for the university athletic programs to compensate their student-athletes, it has been suggested that every university pays the same flat rate to each college athlete for three years, then offer a raise to senior athletes, which would create a fairly large incentive for students to receive their
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degrees. Another reason to pay college athletes is that studies have shown that paying college athletes wouldn’t have a significant impact on the finances of the NCAA. If the NCAA rules making paying college athletes illegal were to change then it would also make a lot of the under the table illegal transactions legal therefor making it less likely for them to get in trouble for doing said transactions. All in all student athletes participating in a college athletics program should be compensated for their hard work because most of them are practicing 40-50 hours a week and they are the only reason the athletic programs have a surplus in revenue. There are also reasons why student athletes should not be paid for their participation in college athletics.
Paying athletes would undermine the primary role of universities which is to offer education.
One reason is that the lifetime skills and education that athletes receive while in college cannot be equated to the amount they would receive were they to be paid.
Athletes are also aware of the contractual agreements with the universities when signing their scholarship papers. The university caters for their upkeep and gives them an opportunity to play their preferred sport at a higher level as well as earn a degree.
Another downside to paying all participants in college athletics is that not all college sports teams are profitable. For example, some of the less popular teams like swimming, tennis, or volleyball don’t earn the university much money. If we were to pay all these college athletes the college would lose money in these athletic areas.
Another reason the NCAA has yet to change this rule is that people are worried that the students will be paid too much considering they are in college and don’t deserve/need extremely high paying
contracts. All in all the common consensus is that college athletes should be paid for their athletic participation in their college’s athletic program, and I would tend to agree depending on the sport they are playing, most college athletes practice too much to be able to hold a steady job that would be able to support the costs outside their education and the college athletic programs they are a part of make enough money to be able to pay them and still make a profit.
They do not face problems of debt and tuition to the extent that the normal college student faces. Student-athletes are fairly compensated through publicity and financial benefits, and the NCAA should continue to refrain from paying them. The varying size and interest levels of universities makes it almost impossible to fairly pay all athletes. In order to avoid problems like those exhibited by Northwestern’s football team, who recently tried to unionize, all athletes would need to be paid equally. The excitement brought on by college sports is immense, and problems created due to paying athletes would only hurt the tradition and charisma that college athletics offer. In conclusion, College athletes are students and amateurs, not employees. “Remember student comes first in student-athlete”
Those who play popular and highly competitive college sports are treated unfairly. The colleges and universities with successful sports like football and basketball receive millions of dollars in television and ad space revenues, so do the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which is the governing body of big time college sports. Many coaches are also paid over $1 million per year. Meanwhile, the players that help the colleges receive these millions of dollars are forbidden to receive any gifts or money for their athletic achievements and performances. As a solution college athletes ...
Tyson Hartnett of The Huffington Post once said “Even with any type of scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke.” This quote regards a tremendous controversy that has been talked about for the past few years. He talks about whether or not college athletes should be paid for their duties. Despite the fact college athletes are not professionals, they should most certainly be paid for playing for their respective schools due to many factors. These factors include health risks and the income bring in for their colleges as well as to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
So everybody would get paid fair. While others may say or wrecks family history because if you have generations and generations go to one college than they started to get paid it might wreck that history because they will pick the highest paying one. That is not true though because if salary caps were put in everybody would get paid the same. In summary college athletes should be paid because they are too busy to have a job, the NCAA has enough money and they can put in salary caps so everybody get paid
... being paid. Many people prefer watching college sports over professional sports based on the idea that money isn’t involved in college sports. They are competing and giving everything they have for the love of their teammates, the love of their school, and above all, their love for the game. Paying athletes would ruin this standard of intercollegiate athletics. For all these reasons, college athletes should not be paid beyond their full ride scholarships.
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.
Athletes everywhere complain and gripe about how little money they have. What they don’t realize is, it’s not just them. Most college students do not have a sufficient amount of money that they can buy whatever they want. It is outrageous that athletes believe they are entitled to accommodations because they play sports. To play a sport at the collegiate level is a privilege (Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Not Be Paid). Students that participate in athletics should not receive any payment because they are receiving tons of benefits, free tuition, and this would extend the talent gap.
Today, most college athletes receive a scholarship to pay for a portion or sometimes all of one’s college tuition. So, what does a scholarship cover? According to an article written by Tyson Hartnett, “A $25,000 scholarship covers the basics, university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and textbooks.” But most scholarships given to college athletes are not full rides. According to US News, in 2010, the average scholarship given to a college athlete was worth $10,400. Even with this amount, many college athletes are not granted a scholarship and have to pay for college themselves.
Some people say that college athletes get paid by having a scholarship, but if you look at it a different way, scholarships might change your mind. Coaches try to get players who they think have the talent to make them win and to persuade them to come to their school by offering them scholarships. The whole idea behind a scholarship is to lure the athlete into coming to your school. Scholarships are nothing more than a recruitment tactic. They will give you a scholarship as long as you produce for them. It’s all about what you can do for them. Indeed these scholarships pay for tuition, room and board, and books, but these athletes don’t have money for other necessities. The NCAA doesn’t want friends or boosters to offer athletes jobs because they ...
One of the strongest arguments against student athletes getting paid is that many people feel they already are getting paid, through their financial aid package. Sports Illustrated author, Seth Davis, states in his article “Hoop Thoughts”, that “student athletes are already being payed by earning a free tuition. Which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000, depending on the school they attend. They are also provided with housing, textbooks, food and academic tutoring. When they travel to road games, they are given per diems for meals. They also get coaching, training, game experience and media exposure in their respective crafts” (Davis, 2011). This is a considerable amount of income. While the majority of regular students are walking out of school with a sizeable amount of debt, most student athletes are debt free. Plus they get to enjoy other benefits that are not made available to the average student. They get to travel with their teams, t...
College athletes should be paid! College athletes are often considered to be some of the luckiest students in the world. Most of them receiving all inclusive scholarships that cover all the costs of their education. They are also in a position to make a reputation for themselves in the sporting world preparing them for the next step. The ongoing debate whether student athletes should be paid has been going on for years. These athletes bring in millions of dollars for their respective schools and receive zero in return. Many will argue that they do receive payment, but in reality it is just not true. Costs associated with getting a college education will be discussed, information pertaining to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and benefits student athletes receive. First, I’ll start with costs associated with college and most of all why student athletes should be paid!
College sports have grown over the years, earning billions of revenue every year. However, what may seem surprising is that the athletes involved do not get a single penny earned from the revenue. These college sports require tremendous time and determination due to long hard practices along with rigorous course works. And due to the lack of time, athletes don’t often have the time for part time jobs that allow them to earn money to buy things they need or want for their personal life. Therefore, college athletes have every right to be paid for their hard work.
Student athletes deserve a payroll because of the vast amount of money they earn for their school. Schools like Texas, Alabama, and Oklahoma all make over $150 million dollars a year. The players should get a small amount of the profit added to their scholarships. It’s only fair that the players make some of that money. This is also one of the big reasons players are upset at the NCAA. They feel as though they should get paid for their efforts.
Paying college athletes is a bad idea because of the cost associated with it. According to equal rights policies and other rules by the NCAA, colleges are required to pay all athletes, regardless of gender, sport played, publicity for the college from the sport, or proficiency in the sport. This means that colleges like the University of Tennessee, which has over 500 student athletes, would have to devote a large portion of their athletics budget to paying student athletes. According to Jim Walker, these massive costs may cause colleges to close less profitable activities like tennis or golf in an effort to save money for the big, money-making sports such as football and basketball (1). Women’s sports would likewise be targeted, as they usually operate at a higher cost than they bring in revenue (Walker 1). For colleges operating with lower budgets, having sports programs may become completely impossible. As sports editor Al Dunning said “Where are athletes going to play- and receive scholarships- when all but the richest schools go broke?” (1).
In many states, athletics in the academic system, are a big deal. Usually, the athletic department is what brings the most attention and revenue to the smallest of schools, to the largest. A topic of discussion that was brought up to my attention when March Madness began, was whether or not student athletes should be compensated for their hard work on the court or on the field. Many believe full ride scholarships should be enough, but not every athlete gets full ride scholarships. When determining whether a student athlete should be or should not be compensated, there are many factors to take into account.