College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

Joe Posnanski, a sports journalist and former columnist for Sports Illustrated, weighed in on the controversial issue of college athletes receiving money as a service of their play. “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid” published 2011 from the Norton Sampler starts off by introducing one of his main arguments that “College athletics are not about the players” (Posnanski 585) but instead are about the alumni and the colleges themselves that people support. If player on a team left and made their own team would that colleges alumni now support their semi-pro team, no chance. College Supporters love the youthful feeling and the how close they feel too it. He shows how big time college athletes do get paid in tuition, room and board, food,

College athletes are fun and exciting to watch each and every time we watch them. The only problem with college athletes are that they are not getting paid like they should be. Athletes give it their all each and every time they go out on the court or the field. The NCAA makes billions of dollars each and every year from championship games or the NCAA March Madness, but none of that money is sent to the players. College athletes have the right to be paid by the NCAA and the universities because they represent the product that both are selling.

Jameis Winston, Dwayne Wade, Giancarlo Stanton, and Dalvin Cook all are very big people in Florida’s sports market. They all are important to their team’s success and considered leaders on their teams. The major difference between the four players is that 3 of them are compensated for their work, but on the other hand, one which is a college student receiving a free education, isn’t paid for nearly doing the same kind of work. Many people would argue that it’s not fair that college athletes aren’t being paid for bringing in millions of dollars to the institution they play for, putting their lives in danger to play the sports, and missing tons of class to prepare for their sports games without being paid. Those who argue against the compensation of athletes would say that most college and universities don’t make nearly enough revenue to pay all the college athletes as well as saying college athletes already receive a free education with scholarships and that should be the real reason to be in college. This issue has been a debate for many years among players, the National Collegiate Athletic Association & even outside influences like celebrities and law officials.

“College athletes are being educated, not exploited”(Ackerman, Scott). Some people believe that college athletes are being exploited because the colleges don't pay their athletes. People think that the players should get paid since the colleges make so much money. However the money that the colleges makes shouldn't play a factor in the athletes getting paid because the athletes receive so many benefits from their college already. College athletes do not deserve to get paid from their colleges that they play for. Most of the athletes have gotten scholarships to play for that college team. The scholarships that the athletes receive include books, tuition, food, gas, fees and other college related needs. So they have no need for a paycheck from their college when all of their needs are paid for. College athletes just don't deserve to get paid because they are not professional athletes yet (CNN News) (Daily local News).

In the spring of 2014, the Northwestern University football team did something that has never been done before in the history of college sports. Several scholarship players voted on whether the team should unionize. These same players believe that they should be compensated for their play on the athletic field. Countless collegiate sports fans also believe that college athletes from around the country should be compensated for playing sports; however, paying college athletes would cause multiple problems in college athletics. Most people do not understand how much student athletes are given to them free of charge just to attend a university, while the majority of other average students are stuck with the burden of paying for their education. College athletes should not be paid since schools do not have the money to pay student athletes, it would not be fair for athletes who do not play football or basketball, and they have athletic scholarships that allow them to receive a free education.

For decades college athletics have been a huge money making business and for decades the players at these universities have been the ones making the majority of it. The issue with this topic is that college athletes receive nothing more than a scholarship which is sometimes not enough. Many college athletes have spoken out about this issue and the NCAA has fired back in response. The NCAA argues that these athletes are not professionals and do not deserve payment. If college athletes were to receive payment they would no longer be amateur athletes. Some fans think it would ruin the integrity of college athletics because college athletes are supposed to be working towards making it to the professional level, if they were to receive payment for play it may tarnish some athletes work ethic. What is at stake in this piece is that college athletics make billions of dollars a year and the main attraction to the events that make the money are the athletes that play in the game and those athletes do not receive any of the money made. The NCAA does not want to pay the athletes because you cannot just pay the top athletes you must pay all athletes. If the NCAA were to do this they would lose a lot of money from what they bring in now.

The first president of the NCAA, Walter Byers, once stated, “All of this is not fair, and I predict that the amateur code now based on a forgone philosophy and held in place for shear economic purposes, will not long stand the test of the law” (Schooled-The Price of College Sports). So why has it? This controversial issue on whether college athletes should be compensated or not has been debated for years, but still has not been resolved. Although the highly disputed debate on whether to pay college athletes or not is very intricate, evidence clearly shows they should be further compensated.

Imagine working a full time job with your family to take care of but you spend more time

The NCAA and the universities represented by it are now making more money than ever through their athletic programs than ever before. However, due to amateurism regulations set by the NCAA, the college athletes that generate the massive revenue the NCAA receives are not paid at all. The article opens with the argument that college athletes should be paid for their play. The argument is supported through information proving that the NCAA undervalues athletes through the money they generate for their school versus the amount of scholarship money the school provides them with. The article also discusses how the NCAA also prevents athletes from marketing their own image and

The NCAA is a very well known college sports organization that is known for providing entertainment for college sports fans all around the country for example the march madness, the college baseball world series, and a variety of bowl games. Since the early 1900’s the controversy about paying college athletes has been ongoing with some people saying they should be paid and others saying they should not be paid. People believe that athletes do enough work that they should be paid for all they do. While that may be true and athletes put all they can into their sport, people going against it have a better argument. College athletes should not be paid because college is not a job but rather meant for learning, the NCAA is a non profit organization, and athletes will already have scholarships so they do not need money for loans.

There has been on ongoing discussion between college athletes and the NCAA on whether they should be compensated for the work they do for their selective school. Student athletes deserve to be paid to invest in their needs, and the schools have the money to do so. College Athletes have made the case that they are no longer student athletes, but are on the clock workers. The NCAA accumulates around 11 billion dollars in revenue a year, more money than the NFL, NBA, and MLB. Many writers such as Joe Nocera, a sports business columnist for the New York Times, talks about how “The NCAA and college sports establishment exploit the players who generate the billions that the grown-ups pocket.” College Athletics’ is the school’s number one money

With another academic school year passing by, college football fans were able to join another out the seat nail-biting highlighted NCAA football season. Majority of the people would agree that college football is just as competitive and popular as the NFL. The annual revenue of the top 25 college football teams can reflect that assumption by grossing over 1.2 billion dollars alone. There is one major difference between the two associations which is NFL players are paid off the money they help bring in and college student athletes are not. Providing scholarships to the athletes isn’t enough anymore if the NCAA Football wants to perceive themselves as a money making competitor, and not reward the athletes that helped bring in that type of money.

The magnitude of the controversy to pay college athletes has intensified over the past few years. It might be due to the prevailing economic atmosphere causing everyone, including aspiring athletes, to look for new ways to make money. It might also be due to many higher educational facilities giving the public access to their annual budget, causing outsiders to focus on the profit of specific athletic programs. However, it might also be due to the coaches’ outrageous salaries and the money that universities make from bowl games and basketball tournaments. Regardless, this has intensified the fact that athletes see none of these profits and this is what implores the simple question of “where is my portion?”

“ Let’s go,” are the sounds of crazy fans at the NCAA March Madness event with fans yelling and cheering nonstop. You can feel the adrenaline rush and it feels like a real NBA basketball game. The stage is big and the atmosphere is unbelievable. As the players come out, you can see how they feel that all their effort and time has been leading up to this incredible moment. They all seem like professionals, but wait, these athletes do not get paid. The NCAA does not pay athletes no matter how good or bad they are. I believe the NCAA should pay them because college sports are their full time job and the media will overall benefit colleges and strike the players.

There has been a recent debate on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Many people believe they should get paid, but many others believe they should not be paid. College athletes should not be paid because the students should worry about their education, it is an extracurricular activity, and the Ncaa does not approve of it.