Analysis: Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has been rewarding University athletic programs across the nation for many years now. Allowing coaching staff and others to make money off of the athletes in these programs. Athletes, however, do not get any compensation for the hard work they put in to earn the National Collegiate Athletic Association the multi- million dollars of revenue each year. The athletes are expected to give an “all in” type effort while keeping up with their rigorous courses. A recent ruling that Northwestern University football players have the right to unionize and begin to receive that compensation from the NCAA proved many people wrong and stirred up the pot between supports and non supporters.

The argument of whether or not the NCAA should pay its athletes has been debated for around 8 years now, and right when it seems like there may be a breakthrough another reason comes up for the issue to be put on hold. College athletic programs are multimillion dollar programs and the athletes who make this revenue possible are getting the bare minimum to make it by in these college programs. Last year the Texas A&M athletic program was at the top of the NCAA revenue list bringing in $192,608,876. A third of that revenue comes from ticket sales alone, which leaves the rest to television rights, licensing and other donations. In the NCAA there are 26 colleges which are bringing in over 100 million dollars in NCAA revenue (USA Today 1). But still, Horace claims that “there is a misconception that athletic programs in general are profitable and are making hand-over fist. While truly most operate at a cost to the institution”.

College sports have got a lot more popularity across the country then when it first started, over the last few decades. Intercollegiate sports such as football, basketball, or hockey have brought in extra money to their Universities, and also made their colleges more popular. Even though those sports are bringing millions in, no college athletes are legally rewarded for their work and performance. According to NCAA rules, “You are not eligible for participation in a sport if you have ever taken money from anyone, or someone promised to pay you, for competing in that sport” (NCAA Regulations 1). Because of this rule, college athletes have a difficult time paying for college, but also many athletes are starting to be paid under the table through

College Athletes should they Be paid or not. This has been a controversial issue since student athletes have been added to the universities. Today I am going to explain about what is considered a college athlete, the positives and negatives to athletes being paid, the positives and negatives to athletes not being paid, and my opinion on the current student athlete roles and positions.

How would you feel if you worked vigorously every week for 60 hours and ended up with no paycheck? College athletes should be paid because the universities, colleges, apparel companies, T.V networks and athletic conferences they are playing for are making millions of dollars and the players get very little of that money. Also playing a college sport is like a full time job and athletes do not have time to make money to pay for a sufficient day-to-day life. Finally paying college athletes will decrease the number of student-athletes accepting illegal payments to get by in their daily life. Colleges, universities,, T.V networks, shoe companies and athletic conferences are making millions of dollars and players get very little of that money.

Education lasts a lifetime but sports lasts only for a certain amount of time. Most physical sports are played when their young but they can’t always play forever except some sports. According to the gator an article “why college athlete should not get paid” the author states that “Despite earning a seven-figure salary in the NFL, Matt Elam returned to Gainesville during the offseason to continue his degree. He even took a low-paying job at a sporting goods store to get a better grasp on the business he wants to pursue following his NFL career.” What this author says is that knowledge you could always keep in your brain versus a sports career it always that will last a short period of time. In the American tradition education means a lot too many families because it’s it gives success. There

Professional athletes all around the world bring in sum of the largest paychecks around, but college athletes, though they work just as hard, see no compensation for their efforts. As of today, college athletes are not paid, and never have been. Even with the insane amount of money that both colleges and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) make from the athletes’ hard earned accomplishments. There are many college athletes that, though they are working hard to meet the expectations of colleges, still have to pay off their college expenses while being used by colleges to bring in lots of revenue. They are working harder than any other student on any college campus, balancing their sport and education, so shouldn’t they be rewarded?

As college in the U.S. gets more expensive on year to year basis, it seems to become more of need or a necessity for a student to get a good job. It almost as if colleges or the higher education system as a whole is taking advantage of students by constantly raising their tuition. At some universities there tuition has risen to nearly a quarter-million dollars for a four year education. College tuition has gone up 945 percent since 1980. It is almost impossible for the average day to day, four year college student to not come out of school without any type of debt at all. It is to the point now where the only people who do come out of college without any debt, are college athletes and the top tier of the students in their high school class,

Today, sports are no longer fun and games, sports are a business, and college sports are no different. Division I college sports provide a huge source of universities’ income. The school receives money from ticket sales, television contracts, and sport-related merchandise, along with many other sports related revenue builders. The athletes on the other hand, receive their scholarship and little more. While the idea of receiving a free college education is something few would complain about; when the issue is more closely examined it becomes evident that it is not enough. Universities are exploiting athletes, and recently the problems that this creates have become more prominent. More and more athletes are now leaving

Over the past five years, there has been a movement by groups of college athletes to be paid additional money besides the scholarships they receive. National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) mens football and basketball are huge revenue makers with some conferences owning their own television neworks. College coaches salaries have also skyrocketed to an average of $1.75 million a year. (Klevorn, 2015) The movement is for student-athletes to start to earn there share of the pie. The NCAA’s contractual language only allows schools to provide student-athletes with scholarships while limiting the athletes’ earnings. The model is based on the belief that student-atheletes are not professionals, but only amateurs. Student-Athletes have been known to

Have you ever thought about being a college athlete? During college, students who are athletes have to keep up with the study and the daily physical training. Many High school student athletes’ dreams are to graduate and be accepted to some of the top universities and to continue playing for their university; however, throughout the United States, most university athletes are faced with an issue that many may not be familiar with. These athletes represent their universities yet, they are not paid for their play. NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and many others think that this is the right thing to do. Their argument is that these players are receiving scholarships, graduate assistantships, and many other

Many people go to work for an average of 40 hours a week to earn money to provide for themselves and their families, but many jobs are going with any payment in return. College athletes spend 50 hours a week practicing their sports, according to Nocera. This equates to more than a full time job. Many athletes see their sport as a job, an unpaid job. College athletes should be paid for playing sports at their universities. Many universities get high amount of revenue from sports, for example the profit from football is in the millions. Some colleges even accommodate 40 million in football earnings, but none of these revenues are given to the football players. Furthermore, many college athletes have tougher lives than those in the professional

College athletes graduate at an abysmal rate, but improve under conditions where players received the equivalent of more money in private colleges. Today, athletes continue to grow impatient with the NCAA’s strict regulation of paying athletes, so much that many have been driven to accepting under-the-table money from third parties. Although they are not professionals, college athletes would greatly benefit from being paid because it improves their financial security, increases their likelihood to complete their degree, and lessens their feeling of being exploited. In sum, the evidence displayed the necessary information to conclude and affirm the claim that college athletes are struggling in more ways than one, and the NCAA’s outdated restrictions have lead to nothing but frustration of former and current

Today sports, are no longer fun and games, sports are a business, and college sports are no different. Division I college sports provide a huge source of universities’ income. The school receives money from ticket sales, television contracts, and sport-related merchandise, along with many other sports related revenue builders. The athletes on the other hand, receive their scholarship and little more. While the idea of receiving a free college education is something few would complain about; when the issue is more closely examined it becomes evident that it is not enough. Universities are exploiting athletes, and recently the problems that this creates have become more prominent. More and more athletes are now leaving school early to enter the professional leagues in order to make money. There have also been more reports of violations surrounding university boosters and alumni paying players. Furthermore, athletes have been accused of making deals with gamblers and altering the outcome of games. All of these problems could be minimized, if not completely eliminated, by adopting a program for compensating student athletes. College athletes are exploited by their schools, which make millions of dollars off of them. This leads to violations, students leaving college early, and student-athletes that cannot even afford to do anything that their sport doesn’t sponsor. I believe that with the rising amount of revenue that the NCAA and college athletic departments receive from

Over the last decade college sports have generated more and more money, for themselves and the conferences they’re affiliated with. Division I college sports, most notably football and basketball, provide a huge source of universities’ income. The schools generate revenue from selling tickets, their various television contracts, and merchandise that supports the sport programs, along with many other sports related revenue builders. The athletes however, get a scholarship and not much else. While the thought of getting a free ride through college is something not many people would protest. When the issue is more carefully examined, however, it becomes obvious that it may not be enough. Universities are manipulating athletes, and recently the problems that this creates have become more visible. Many athletes are skipping out on school early and taking their talents to the big leagues to make money. Over the years there have been some reports that boosters as well as alumni pay players while at school. Additionally, some players have been suspect of backroom dealings with gamblers to alter the outcome of a game. Some problems could be minimized, or better yet eliminated, by coming up with a program to pay these college athletes. When you really look at it, these athletes are taken advantage of by their schools, who in turn bring in hundreds of millions of dollars. With the way the system is, many college athletes unknowingly commit violations, choose to leave college early, and