College Athletes Should Be Paid

College athletes for years have dedicated their bodies and many hours of their college careers for their university, with small compensation of tuition for the athlete and large amount of money brought in it has been debated if college athletes should be paid for their time. Many think that all athletes get paid by receiving scholarships to pay towards tuition and room and board, however many think that colleges capitalizing on games and marketing students without compensation is also wrong. While this debate is directed towards college universities and more specifically college athletics the change would if any would effect much more than just athletes. Numerous people are not aware of the pros or cons about this situation and many do not

What first started as college sport clubs in the 1850s where rowing and baseball were popular beginnings, has now grown into thousands of schools and divisions participating annually. The impact intercollegiate athletics has on not only the college population but also in the United States has increased significantly over the years. Cultural and economical aspects further drive this flourishing popularity; large college athletics are ran in a business manner in order to provide another source of income towards schools, tickets, merchandise, and broadcasting contracts are main sources of revenue. Although many things have changed over the years it has always been known for athletes to receive some sort of scholarship or assistance with school. Compensation in past time was received as employment, gifts, favors, and free room and board, these originally were provided by school’s alumni and fraternities. By the early 1900’s the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) was formed to protect young people in pursuit of finding the ideal college programs which rewards their talent and ability. It wasn’t until 1952 that NCAA legalized athletic scholarships to attract student-athletes into their programs. However over 50 years have passed since and with the growing capital some athletes and individuals feel

According to the United States census, the median income for college-aged people is seventeen thousand, five hundred dollars (Snyder). The national average is half the amount of what these athletes would be getting paid. The thirty-five thousand dollars that they receive is on top of their scholarship amount that they would receive yearly. The average amount of scholarship money that is received by a collegiate athlete is ten thousand, four hundred dollars. This amount lessens to eight thousand, seven hundred dollars if you take out football and basketball, the two sports that are included in Nocera’s plan (O’Shaughnessy). If the two numbers are put together, around forty-six thousand dollars, which is almost three times the amount of the national income for the average college-aged student. The same equations can be done for basketball, which produce a very similar