College Athletes Should Be Paid

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The topic of whether college athletes should be paid is a controversial topic. Through the years there has been much debate for both paying athletes and for them not being compensated. According to Joe Nocera of The New York Times, when the NCAA was first formed neither player nor coach were paid. Nocera also stated that as of 2011 there were now coaches being paid as much as 53 million dollars. As times have changed and coaches are now being highly compensated, the question remains, should players also begin to be compensated for both the risk of injury and for the amount of revenue they bring to their respective universities. Have you heard the name Jaylon Smith? According to Nina Mandell of USA Today Sports, in Smith’s last season …show more content…

Johnny Manziel felt he should not have gotten in trouble because he had a paid autograph signing while at Texas A&M University. NCAA rules state that you can’t make money from your sport while in college. Johnny Manziel was very popular at the time and his name was sweeping the nation. He was probably as popular as some pro athletes at the time, but he couldn’t make any money off his name like the pros could. According to a USA Today chart Manziel brought in about $120 million during his Freshman year at Texas A&M. Manziel did not end up being successful in the NFL, but if he could have legally used his name while in college he could have made some money. Manziel wasn't the only athlete ever to think he deserved some money for his success. There was also another big case where this occurred. The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team from 1991-1993. Have you ever heard of the “Fab Five”? The “Fab Five” was one of the greatest recruiting classes ever. During their freshman year at the University of Michigan, the starting lineup was all freshman, which is very rare in college basketball. After their sophomore season, Chris Webber declared for the NBA Draft and the “Fab Five” was no more. The “Fab Five” made lots of money for their university due to their success on the basketball court. But according to Nick Baumgardner of MLive, in 1996 there was an allegation that a booster named Ed …show more content…

According to Fred Brown of the Washington Post, the University of Northwestern costs about $250,000. With the fact that most of the athletes are escaping a fee of up to $250,000 for a college education, should they really be paid on top of that? Athletes are basically paid with their scholarships. The value of a good education can be considered worth far more than the average cost of college tuition. Most would debate that college athletes are actually being paid with their

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