College Athlete

Collegiate sports have turned into a billion dollar industry and are probably just as popular, if not more popular than professional sports. College athletes put their bodies on the line to play a sport they love, many with hopes and dreams to one day make it to the professional leagues. Athletic facilities are the major money makers for all universities. Colleges bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet athletes do not get paid. Some fans believe athletes should not get paid due to their sports level being “amateurish.”; however, this is far from the truth. There is much more to being a college athlete than just practicing and playing games. These student-athletes must practice, weight lift, go to meetings, travel, go to tutoring and study groups, all the while maintaining sufficient grades. This is very tedious work and is very time consuming. College athletes have a high standard to live up to (Frederick Web; Huma Web; Patterson Web ).

Not only do different college sports bring in vastly different amounts of revenue, but different athletes on individual teams bring in vastly different amounts of revenue. Due to these differences, it is impossible to make a determination as to how funding would be allocated. William Jung Texas Christian University, 3 May 2013 explains Different athletes, even on the most profitable sports teams, bring in vastly different levels of revenue economics research articles have estimated the marginal revenue product (MRP) of a student-athlete in major college sports. The most recent study finds that the median MRP was about $44,000, which exceeds the average value of a scholarship, and that the mean MRP was over $91,000. For the best players, MRP exceeds $1,000,000. Dan Duggan New Jersey LLC., 10 March 2015 explains the impact of this which is Due to the necessity of providing equal pay for all players, it becomes logistically impossible to equitably compensate athletes. but as far as flat-out paying them, I just think that’s

Many people believe that the college athletes are just like the professionals because they train and work just as hard as hard as the pros. First of all college students are working and training so hard because they want to make it to the major-leagues some day. “Students are not professional athletes who are paid salaries and incentives for a career in sports. They are students receiving access to a college education through their participation in sports, for which they earn scholarships to pay tuition, fees, room and

Many will argue that college athletes do not need to be compensated because they are student-athletes; and the key word for them is student. One argument against paying college athletes is that they are basically receiving a free education from a top school. A four-year scholarship will cover everything a student-athlete needs. This includes: tuition, room and board, books, medical coverage and meals. For example, Duke University costs $57,180 to attend (Bleacher Report, 2013). Those on an athletic scholarship at Duke are receiving a high quality education and are

Most people don’t know that college athletes are already getting paid in different ways than just direct money. "A student athlete at a major conference school on a full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room, board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year depending on their sport and whether they attend public or private university"(Dorfman). These athletes get training and coaching for free that professionals pay $2,000-$3,000 per week for. They also receive free schooling if they received scholarships from the school. They can also have free room which means the athletes don’t have to pay for their houses. The average college student pays $20,000 in tuition that these athletes get

Many believe that paying college athletes is wrong because they are amateurs, or students first and athletes second. With tuition continuing to raise the average athletic scholarships aren’t covering the costs anymore. There is a misconception that most college athletes on athletic scholarships are getting everything paid for, in reality that’s actually false. For example, a Division I basketball team is granted thirteen scholarships each year. Of those thirteen scholarships the University is allowed to split them up however they feel. These scholarships are for incoming students from high school and returning student athletes that had their scholarship picked up for another year. According to author Mark Kantrowitz, less than 20,000 students a year receive an entirely free ride to college (O’Shaughnessy, 2011). That number is students total, not student athletes, that is a very small number when you see that there were 453,347 NCAA student athletes in 2012-13 (Brown, 2013).

There are these ongoing stereotypes that student athletes are “dumb,” “lazy,” and “privileged.” It’s understandable that people believe these stereotypes, news magazines and reports are always talking about how athletes are “coddled” and “cheat” their way to success. Though it is nowhere near true for the majority of student athletes, a select few situations encourage this negative categorization of us, thus putting student athletes under even more pressure to perform. Student athletes are constantly misjudged and the assumptions are affecting us.

ll. College Athletes are inherently better off with accepting scholarships versus a salary while participating in sports.

With every beginning to an individual’s sports career, there has to be an end. Most player’s careers end after their four years of playing a high school sport. Although many high school players want the opportunity to play sports in college, most are unaware of the increased workload required to play a college sport. When a high school player thinks about continuing their career to play college sports they often imagine the transition into college as being uncomplicated.

College sports isn't what everyone makes it out to be. Some people relate college sports to High School sports only to the extent of: it's a level harder. Many feel that college sports isn't that big of a deal. What little people know is being a collegiate athlete is a job. The life ou hae is set out for you on the court. Most of the free time off the court is spent doing homework. There's hardly any time for a social life, and or time for your family. Being a collegiate athlete isn't just about playing sports anymore, this is your job.

Student athletes attending a major university on a full scholarship are likely to be receiving an exclusive package that could potentially cost $50,000 to $125,000 per year. The amount they receive depends on the sport they participate in and whether they are attending a private or public school. (Dorfman). Due to the amount of money these athletes are currently being rewarded, they should not get paid for participating in their sport of choice; nor should they be allowed to take endorsements.

Student athletes have an opportunity to excel in education while still being productive in sports. Taking education seriously and understanding the consequences of lacking education should constantly be communicated to student athletes. The students have commitments that deny them the chance to take part in education actively, but this is normally used to excuse the students for failing to take education seriously. Colleges should realize that student athletes are first students then athletes second. If the students were not in college, they would not take part in sports activities involving the college. This is why the college should instill discipline in the athletes from the time they join the college. College administrators should monitor the performance of student athletes and deny those who fail the chance to play. Many athletes excelled in education and on the field. Joe Thomas is a good example, a football play he currently plays for Cleveland Browns (Doherty). Thomas excelled academically, and he was an honorable student for four years. Thomas was awarded a postgraduate scholarship worth $18,000. This does demonstrate that a student can excel in education and on the field.

For many years, academics and athletics at the NCAA Division 1 level have been guided by different priorities, admitting college athletes who are unqualified for an education of that level just because of their ability to perform on the playing field. Now more than ever, professional teams are scouting student athletes well into their high school days. In a lot of cases, these athletes need to spend anywhere from one to three years in college before they can be drafted. This has caused many to wonder what kind of an education colleges are really providing these student-athletes. In many cases, students are given special classes with less work, so that they can pass. There needs to be steps to fix the problem. But first, we must see why

Participation in sports has steadily increased throughout the decades. As more and more major professional sports franchises continue to eclipse the one billion mark in value, the fame and wealth that can be obtained by reaching the profession ranks becomes irresistible to many students who have a passion for athletics. For some of these students, reaching the professional ranks is way to pull their family out of the lower class, and into the higher echelon of the upper class. For others, simply competing against the best in the world is a dream come true. The National Federation of State High School Association (NFHS), as reported a twenty-six year increase in the participation of high school athletics (NFHA, 2015). As the general popularity of athletics increases, so does the level of participation in high school athletics. The odds of making the professional ranks, however, are slim to none, as only 6% of high school student-athletes go on to play at the collegiate level (NCAA, 2015). Therefore, states, communities, educators, and parents continue to stress academics before athletics. In fact, when we address athletes in school, we address them as student-athletes.

Student-athletes are putting themselves at the same physical risk as the professionals when they engage in a sport. Just like the professionals, the college athletes are also at risk of injuring themselves, so just because they aren’t professionals doesn’t mean they aren’t at risk and don’t need medical attention. They also deal with stress on the muscles and bones when they workout and actually perform their sport. If you look at normal college student, they just go to class and have time to themselves afterwards. College student-athletes have a larger a workload than the average college student with hours of training, games and classes, all at the same time. If one puts all of these responsibilities together, being a student-athlete is truly