Should Students Get Paid To Play?

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In the world of collegiate sports, the daunting problematic topic is whether students should receive compensation from schools to play. While heavy arguments exist for both sides of the debate, it is clear that students cannot get paid to play. Student-athletes must remember they are students primarily than athletes. With schools being paid for by colleges, there is no reason for extra money to be given to the new college students. Though many people believe paying student-athletes to play should be implemented, it will taint student decisions in recruiting, student education is free, and history shows it's illegal and should continue to have punishments. First and foremost, students should not be paid to play because they are students first …show more content…

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, more than 180,000 student-athletes receive around $3.6 billion in athletic scholarships in Divisions I and II each year. For those who receive sports scholarships, the funds can play a major role in helping families pay for college. This number is an extreme example of college athletes not being under-compensated but rather making a lot of money every year. Student-athletes must remember that other students are not receiving the same benefits as they are simply because they don't play the sport the others do. If those stats from the NCAA are accurate, this means that students that play sports are averaging $20,000 in academics per year. Minimum wage full-time jobs pay annual salaries of $16,500. Thus, they are getting a full-time job salary to go to school and play sports. Meanwhile, Mason Butts, a UCLA Masters degree grad in finance and education, found that “63% of all undergraduates receive at least one grant or scholarship. Students often must pay for the rest of their education.” (Butts, 2021 para 4). With this stat found, it indicates that there are still 37% of college students that aren’t getting a cent. Meanwhile, the student-athletes are getting full scholarships or even partial scholarships to play and are disregarding education. Regardless of what …show more content…

Peter Jacobs, a collegiate news reporter, found and stated, “Collegiate student-athletes may spend more than 40 hours a week practicing, leaving little time to keep up with academic commitments, according to a recent lawsuit against the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.” (Jacobs, 2015 para. 1). The adage of the adage. This statement shows that students practice and play their sports for longer than a full-time job, thus indicating the necessity there is for some reward for their dedication. Nonetheless, the direct reward is playing for a collegiate school and getting free tuition and boarding in the process. Peter Jacobs also had an interview with Robert Orr, a lawyer from the University of North Carolina, stating, “If these young men and women are going to come in and put in 30, 40, 50 hours, the least we can give them is a set of circumstances academically that allows them to benefit educationally from what they have put into the athletics context," (Jacobs 2015, para. 8). The syllable of the syllable. His statement is a crucial argument showcasing the dedication student-athletes put in for their schools and do not get a cash reward. However, as mentioned previously, the student-athletes are there to be students first and then athletes. It matters more on how they are doing in

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