Essay Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

College athletes generate millions of dollars for their schools each year, yet they are not allowed to be compensated beyond a scholarship due to being considered amateurs. College athletes are some of the hardest working people in the nation, having to focus on both school courses and sports. Because athletics take so much time, these student-athletes are always busy. College football and basketball are multi-billion dollar businesses. The NCAA does not want to pay the athletes beyond scholarships, and it would be tough to work a new compensation program into the NCAA and university budgets. College athletes should be compensated in some form because they put in so much time and effort, generating huge amounts of revenue.

Due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) rules and regulations no college athlete is able to receive any compensation or endorsement while participating in college athletics. These rules have long been challenged, however no changes have been made by the NCAA. With universities grossing close to $200 million a year college athletics has turned into one of the top industries in the world. The NCAA is a governing body of college athletics, but without people questioning the NCAA and demanding changes to the monopoly that the NCAA is nothing will happen to the unfairness to college athletes like it is currently.

College athletics have become popular over time over the past few decades. Student athletes need to be determined, committed, and focused. The biggest trait needed by the athlete is dedication. The amount of dedication needed to be a student athlete could be overwhelming. Between classes and workouts could exhaust even the best athlete mentally and physically. Students athletes should be proud to get free education and play sports, but education should be valued more than sports . As an athlete, time management is the key to surviving. Athletes need a balance, maintaining at least 40 hours of practice a week, 30 hours a week of class time, and getting some sleep into their schedule too. Maintaining all of these aspects deserves some more credit, more than just a free education. The NCAA can afford to pay athletes, the NCAA makes about 12 billion every year. The NCAA money comes mostly from TV and marketing and makes up less than 10% of all college athletics money. The rest comes from school ticket sales and student fees from the school itself. The NCAA since 2006 profit have doubled since time has gone by and is still increasing from tournaments and school funding. Athletes play an active role in the promotions of these activities,

The NCAA believes “that a student-athlete is a student first and athlete second.” Student-athletes benefit more than from playing a sport that they love. The graduation rate is higher among the student athletes than the general student body. “NCAA studies show that student-athletes enjoy high levels of engagement in academics, athletics and community: have positive feeling about their overall athletics and academic experiences: attribute invaluable life skills to being a student-athlete: and are more likely to earn similar or higher wages after college than non-student athletes.”

Paying College athletes has been a trending topic around the National Collegiate Athletic Association over the years. Many have strong opinions about this topic, and the opinions vary. The discussion of paying college athletes began in 1991 when the famed Fab Five became a household name in the United States. The Fab Five is arguably the greatest recruiting class of all time; all attending the same school (Baxter). The Fab Five first created controversy when they started to question why the university and university officials were making millions and millions of dollars off their names, and they were just deprived hungry college kids not making a dime. Nike even made billions by copyrighting their famed black athletic socks, black

One school of thought currently cycling throughout media circles is the definition and compensation of college student-athletes. Some colleges and universities provide student-athletes with complete or partially-paid tuition expenses, lodging, books, and other educational incidentals while the athlete plays sports at their institution. Many advocates for fair market compensation for college athletes argue that some Division 1 athletes “labor under very strict or arduous conditions, so they really are laborers in terms of the physical demands on them while they are also trying to go to school” (Cooper 12), but college athletes are primarily students and athletes second. The opportunity to play sports does not exist without the establishment of the institution as an educational foundation first that develops mascots and athletic programs after the fact. College athletes should not be additionally compensated beyond traditional athletic scholarships because college athletes are primarily students who also have the opportunity to play sports while receiving an advanced education.

Paying athletes would change the whole aspect of recruiting a great deal. Whatever school has the most money available would likely get the recruit. College athletes are not professionals, so they should not be treated accordingly. If the athletes were paid, it would turn the whole objective of a college upside down. Because of these reasons, college athletes should not be paid.

Imagine getting up at 6 a.m. for a morning working, going to class from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., having practice from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and then going to study tables for about two hours after practice. This is just a typical day in the life of a college athlete. During the seasons they are putting in upwards of 12 hours a day into their school work and sport, and have only a reduced tuition and the pride of representing their university to show for it. College athletes are working full time jobs and providing universities with billions of dollars, its time that these athletes should have the opportunities they deserve. Whether that is to either go directly in professional sports, or be paid by the NCAA. This topic is often brought up in the world of college sports and is continuing to pick up steam as college athletics gain popularity. While these athletes do sign letters of intents stating that they are still amateur athletes and must remain amateurs throughout their years of competing in college, that it goes against our American belief that allows everybody a chance to pursue their dreams. The system in place now requires these young athlete to sacrifice a year of their professional careers to go to college and without any intentions of graduating with a degree.

Your dream has come true; you're at college playing the sport you love, and at what cost? None. You are free to live your college life worry free and have been given the opportunity to continue your sports career. After you have completed your college education you can get a job, with no college loans that you have to pay off. You are also able to start making money right out of graduation. You get to experience this less stressful college life. The lives of athletes that walk-on and athletes not on a scholarship are stressful ones with many different things to worry about. Those athletes have to worry about how to pay for college and the loans they will have to pay back after graduation. They will have to pay for all their meals, books and the cost for dorms. But what got you here? There were many factors, but one that helped you the most was that you were a diverse athlete.

As of today, there are over 460,000 NCAA student-athletes that compete in 24 different sports while in college throughout the United States (NCAA). Over the past couple decades, the argument for paying these college athletes has gained steam and is a hot topic in the sports community. However, paying these college athletes is not feasible because most universities do not generate enough revenue to provide them with a salary and some even lose money from the sports programs. These collegiate student-athletes are amateurs and paying them would ruin the meaning of college athletics. Also, playing college sports is a choice and a privilege with no mention or guarantee of a salary besides a full-ride scholarship. Although some argue that

Participating in a college sport is a way of preparing one’s self for a new path to cross after graduating. Opportunities also come that will enable a person to participate in the “real world”. In making the most out of a person’s college athletic career, they must understand the life lessons they get, their level of responsibility, learned skills and the connections they have

A well-rounded student-athlete is no longer expected since they are sacrificed for the sake of the audience’s enjoyment. Today, athletic programs exist as entities, pretending to act in the best interest of the institution. Carson and Rinehart argue that the disappearance of the college student athlete has occurred for numerous reasons. Primarily, colleges began to encompass the idea of athletics and their benefits directly towards the institution. This means that the focus is now aimed towards the financial enterprise of athletics directly through ticket sales, broadcasting, merchandising and much more.

Athletics give students motivation to be successful in school. In almost all cases, high school or college, there are certain standards for an athlete’s grades and school performance that determines their eligibility for their sport(s). For example, at Barlow, students must be enrolled in and passing five courses for the current and previous semester to their season. Likewise, college students generally will have basic rules like

Another key point pertaining to the demands that an athlete faces are the eligibility requirements to participate in sports that non-athletes do not have. Although the eligibility requirements vary between school districts and states for high school most of them still include an emphasis on school attendance and a minimum grade point average (GPA). Most high schools utilized the same philosophy about school attendance, which is if the athlete does not attend school, then the ability to participate in practice or games is essentially forfeited (Klesse, 2004). The GPA requirement to participate in athletics does fluctuate, but none the less there is a minimum requirement of an academic standard athletes are obligated to fulfill (Klesse, 2004). From a college perspective the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) clearly identifies academics as a priority by setting the tone surrounding eligibility for high school students looking to play sports in college (NCAA, n.d.). The NCAA website provides a guideline for each year of high school followed by requirements that each student can refer to that encompasses the number of classes needed, GPA, and SAT/ACT calculations (NCAA, n.d.). The NCAA attempts to set a standard that participation in athletic programs is a privilege by enforcing levels of academic standards that have to be maintained (NCAA, n.d.).

At many colleges and universities, there is a significant difference between the life of a student-athlete and the life of a non-student athlete. A number of institutions that are regulated by the NCAA(National Collegiate Athletic Association), mostly larger schools(Divisions I, I-AA, and II) apply their focus solely on their athletic programs opposed to their athletes themselves. Yet, this is not the case for every college or university. There are also schools that are known for their academics, such as Ivy League schools that produce top scholars. Yet, very few schools are known to give the absolute “best” of both worlds per say. Many of the larger schools put their efforts into developing elite athletic programs in order to gain capital. For decades this has been a major concern for many. The same athletes that are performing to build their schools have not been reaping, nor acquired access to, the benefits that they are promised nor that they deserve. Colleges and universities should focus on giving “student” athletes more of an education and less of an athletic experience because the odds of becoming professional are unlikely, college athletics bring in enough revenue to support the athletes, and student-athletes should be as informed and supported in academics as they are sports.