College football has been a sport in American society for decades. Yet the players playing the sport are not receiving their fair cut of the prize. It has been debated whether or not college football players should get paid for playing. The supporters say that the players are not being compensated fairly and the non-supporters say that the education the players receive is payment enough. They also say that the universities the players attend are providing them with the basic necessities so they should not get paid. College football players should be paid though because they put their bodies at risk, make a lot of money for their school, and the play to entertain audiences. The players put their bodies at risk because they are playing a …show more content…
rough and dangerous sport and they might get injured playing the game. SmartAsset author Tiffany Patterson reported “A Louisville player Kevin Ware suffered a horrible injury to the lower portion of his right leg.”(Patterson) Although Mr. Ware’s leg did heal, not every player will be as fortunate like Ware was. Not all players made a comeback from their injury and were not able to return to the field. Physicians at the JAMA Network has announced that “Players who have had a concussion earlier on in their life will most likely have a repeat concussion later on down the road and 1 out of 15 of those players will have a repeat concussion in the same season.¨(McCrea) Players often get injured in this sport and they still play even when they might get injured again. They accept the risks even though they realize that they might get injured and they might not come back to play. Medical doctors working at The American Journal of Sports Medicine conclude that “Only 43% of players who have received an injury to their ACL commented that they felt like they could play on the same level as they had before the injury and 27% say that they did not feel like they could play on the same level although they could play. The other 30% commented that they are not able to return to the field and play football again.”(McCullough) College football players are facing huge risks and accepted it although all they receive is maybe a scholarship to represent their school on the field. College football players make lots of money for their universities by playing football and drawing in spectators. The Sportster author Matthew Emmons quotes “College football has been making lots of money due to lucrative television deals, merchandise, and many sporting venues across the United States.¨(Emmons) College football has earned lots of money from spectators watching the games throughout football season and the players who play the game and keep the spectators watching although they cannot get any of the money the school receives. Michael Wilbon, a journalist reports that there is a “$11 million deal for NCAA by CBS/TurnerNews for March Madness until 2024.”(Wilbon) The organization that supports college sports is getting all the money and the players who make the event possible do not get a portion of the profit. Author Taylor Branch of The Atlantic magazine revealed that “Most big revenue colleges and universities who participate in intercollegiate sports make between $40 to $80 million a year”(Branch) The colleges and universities get $40 to $80 million each year because college football is extremely popular in the United States and the players do not receive any of the money they played for. College football players entertain audiences from around the country, making huge profits for NCAA and their school, yet they do not receive any of it. Boyun Woo, one of the authors of Sports Marketing Quarterly estimates that ¨Over 48 million people attend college football games and millions more watch them on live television.¨(Woo) College football entertains a vast population around the United States and it is unfair that the players who play the game and are being watched, do not get paid. The author of MaristPoll explains that “54% of Americans are college football fans even if they do not often see the games.¨(Poll) College football is popular and the players are what keep the sport watched and earning tons of profit. Teddy Mitrosilis, a journalist for FOXNews conducted a research project and found in the testing area, ¨College football is one of the top 3 most watched sports.¨(Mitrosilis) College football has many followers around the country and the players who keep the audiences on their toes watching are not receiving fair pay that they are working hard for. Although college football players have many reasons to be paid, they also have reasons they should not be paid.
Tiffany Patterson argues “College football players are already receiving scholarships to pay for their tuition and it is unfair to other students who are juggling between jobs and school.”(Patterson) Although college football players work hard at playing football, it is unfair to other students who are not receiving scholarships and having football players paid will be even more unfair. According to Lauren Horne, the lead author of Bleacherreport, says “College football players cost universities and colleges lots of money and paying them will put the universities in even more financial debt. Universities and colleges spend about $42 million on football players who, except for an elite hundred, will never play in the NFL.”(Horne) Colleges are already have finance issues and if they pay all the players, their trouble will get worse. Rick Burton, the professor of sports management at Syracuse University explains “Student athletes who go to college are already receiving a fair amount of pay by receiving an education”(Burton) The athletes are being compensated for their time on the football field by the professors giving them an
education. Not paying college football players is unfair to the players and they deserve to be paid from the schools; they put their bodies on the line, make a ton of money for their schools, and they entertain audiences by playing football. Everyone should stand behind these football players and demand that players receive their fair share of the money they make. They all understood the risks of playing college football and they all accepted it. They have been playing college football to make sure the audiences watching are entertained so that the universities are making money. It is unfair that college football players play the sport that has been a part of American society and not pay them for their dedication.
Critics feel that the term amateurism is only a term used in collegiate sports to show the distinguish the difference between professional and collegiate so that they don’t have to pay college athletes. College athletes are just as talented and just as exposed as professional athletes. The argument is for there to be a share in the profits for wage compensation amongst players is know as pay-for-play. College athletics is a corporate enterprise that is worth millions of dollars in revenue. Pay-for-play is an assumption that colleges and universities receive huge revenues from marketing their collegiate sports programs and that the profits from these revenues are not shared with players who perform in the arena. Which some feel that they should.
College athletes shouldn’t be paid because there is no fair way to pay all players of the NCAA. Patterson reveals the issues of paying college athletes equally, expressed when she stated "College football, as well as men’s and women’s basketball, are the money makers as far as collegiate athletics is concerned. Most other programs are actually cash strapped." Allowing college athletes to be paid would just create a very large burden of figuring out who would get paid, how much would they get paid, and who would pay them. Patterson also reveals the issues of the difficulty when she states "Is that really fair to the other student-athletes?" This exemplifies the complexity of paying college students and the burden that accompanies
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
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.
Should college athletes get paid an additional salary? They are an important assets to universities and colleges, so why should they not? How else would universities justify taking advantage of these young men and women? These are questions that arise when pondering the issue. This has been a large controversy over the years of rather or not college athletes should be paid, more specifically football and basketball players. However, they fail to mention that colleges are only considering paying a select few, the stars of the sports. Every single sport in colleges is making revenue for those campuses, making colleges money hungry. Thus, if they decide to only pay a select few, would that leave out women sports all together? Why pay college athletes more on top of everything they already receive? Most college athletes receive free tuition, medical care, meal plans and room and board, which can acquaint to more than a quarter million dollars for their entire college career (Scoop, 2013). Why ask for more? What is this teaching our youth? They should appreciate their chance to do what they love and value the education they are receiving, because that education is far more valuable than a potential sports salary. Even though colleges and college athletes have a few good points on why they believe they should get paid, over all the issue is larger than that, college athletes already make their share of “money” through free education and much more.
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
Money Hurts College athletes attend post-secondary schools in order to receive an education and to participate in sports. “Student athletes participate in an organized competitive sport sponsored by the educational institution in which he or she is enrolled. Student athletes must typically balance the roles of being a full-time student and a full-time athlete” (“Student athlete” 1). Additionally, some people believe athletes should receive a salary. However, paying college athletes hurts the school, the sports, and the athletes.
College athletes should be paid because of the huge amount of money being made off of the use of their athletic ability. The college basketball and football games that everyone watches on TV is no longer just a game, it is a business. The colleges and arenas hosting such events are not doing it solely for the love of sport, they are doing it for the money that will flow generously into their banking accounts. The coaches also, they are not volunteers, they are not there just for their love of the game, coaching is their job. The athletic directors, coaching staff, and event staff are all doing their job to put food on the table. The fans are watching the game, the players, the ones who are making huge sacrifices to be on the court. The athletes are the only ones in this circle of business who are putting in the hours, maybe even the most hours, and not getting a paycheck. It is time for a change, the fans, the players, and the NCAA is ready for it, it just has to be done. However, there are those out there fighting the other side of this battle, saying there is no need for these student athletes to be paid. Both sides have good points but one of them has great points.
A question that has been rising to the surface lately is “should college athletes be paid a salary?” One cannot get on the internet now a day and not see some kind of college sport headline. The world of college sports has been changed greatly the past decade due to college athletes. These athletes make insurmountable amounts of money and an unbelievable amount of recognition for the universities. The athletes that provide and make a ton of revenue for the colleges also spend a huge amount of their time practicing and staying committed to sports, and have to maintain good grades in school which requires quite a bit of overtime. Because college athletes generate massive amounts of revenue and put in massive amounts of personal time for their individual universities, colleges need to financially compensate players for their contributions. The colleges that these superstars represent are reaping all of the benefits of the accomplishments the athletes have, yet the big named players are making nothing from what they do.
The argument whether a student-athlete should be paid to play or not be paid is one that spans the ages. College sports are considered to be of amateur status by the NCAA. Therefore, they believe student-athletes should not receive a pay check to participate in a sport. However, on the other end of the spectrum, many critics believe that student-athletes should receive pay for play because not only are they participating in a sport, they are entertaining the spectators. They believe that if performers in the entertainment industry are paid, why not pay the college-athletes?
Even the waterboy gets paid! NCAA football is a billion dollar a year empire, in which coaches, executives, school presidents, board members, athletic trainers, athletic directors, equipment managers, Waterboys, towel boys, ball boys, and even team mascots all receive a chunk of the revenue. Everyone gets paid except the athletes, who don’t receive a dime of the money. That’s because it’s against NCAA rules to pay college athletes with anything other than an athletic scholarship; anything else, and it’s deemed as an improper benefit, thus making an athlete ineligible if he/she were to accept. The NCAA defends its rule of “no-pay” by claiming that all its student-athletes are “amateurs” and not employees; therefore, they’re legally not compensated. The argument over whether student-athletes should be paid or not, is particularly unsettling within the sport of football, because NCAA football is the most popular and profitable sport of all college athletics. The NCAA’s discrepancy over whether it should pay its players or not, currently has the association fighting a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, who’s suing for compensation on behalf of former Division I football and men’s basketball players. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s use of student-athletes’ images and likeness for commercial purposes (PBS.org). In recent months the argument has been geared more towards whether current student-athletes should be paid or not, particularly football players, who like former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, provide the athleticism and entertainment that makes NCAA football the million dollar empire that it is. So, should college football players be paid?
There has been an extensive debate over the years about college athletes being paid and I honestly don’t see why there is a debate about it at all. The NCAA has strict rules about players receiving benefits from the school in forms of helping players and their families in the form of paychecks or even helping pay bills. College sports bring in an enormous amount of money for the schools every year and are expected to be given nothing in return. Sports do not only bring in money to schools but also more students and fans. The NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) have taken several players’ records and rewards from them for the simple fact of getting benefits from the school and that is just not acceptable (Allen 115). Athletes are just like every other student in the way of having to pay for housing, food, bills, and more. Having to balance school and sports gives athletes no time to have jobs which means they do not have a way to bring in money to pay for the essentials of going to
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...
In today’s society, one of the big controversies with sports is, should student athletes be be paid a salary? Some people believe that they should be paid and others would completely disagree. Even though they technically are being paid, they really are not. The only type of way the athletes would be paid is through financial aid or if they have a job. Only their education is being paid by the school. Although some people believe that they should be paid, it would not be a good idea at all. So college athletes should not be paid at all because they are basically being paid to study and play a sport.
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!