Research Paper On College Athletes

Donald Delahaye, a kicker for UCF you may have heard of him. Lost his NCAA eligibility for making and profiting of his YouTube videos. Another name you may know LiAngelo Ball. Couldn’t profit or promote his family made business of Big Baller Brand (BBB) because of NCAA eligibility rules. His little brother LaMelo Ball could lose his NCAA eligibility for making and profiting off his own signature shoe. These athletes all have something in common. All these athletes, these people have either had their eligibility taken or in jeopardy because they were profiting off their image, content, or likeness. College coaches, programs, and schools make millions off their student athletes and the NCAA billions off the student athletes. As more people

But why should a student athlete be paid in the first place? Their just athletes right? They go to school just like everyone else? What makes them so special? What makes a college athlete different than the average student is the amount of revenue that they help bring to their selected colleges. This type of revenue is made up from ticket sales, merchandise, media rights and contributions. “USA today” reported that the University of Texas generated $167.7 million dollars from their athletic programs, and that’s just one school. With this in mind, imagine just how much money other colleges are making from their athletics. Sure one can make the argument that they should not be paid because they are not professionals, but one can’t ignore the fact that they are bringing in millions of dollars and seeing none of it.

Student athletes should not be paid. A misconception is that all athletic programs in the NCAA make head-over-toe profit. There are three divisions of intercollegiate athletics, and frankly division three athletic programs don’t make as much or have a profit when compared to division one programs. “Critics of paying college athletes note that only a small number of them compete in sports or on teams that actually generate revenue”. (Paying College Athletes) The truth is only a fraction of athletic programs are actually profitable, while most pose a cost to the institution. The question arises primarily in division one programs and typically in the sports of basketball and football. The argument is made that these institutions receive millions of dollars from their student athletes’ performance, in return they should be paid.

Kim Kardashian’s ex lover is not just famous for dating a “Kardashian”; he was more famous for the controversial issue with the NCAA due to proceeds given to him for his ability on the field. Reggie Bush made a lot of accomplishments while being a college athlete. Because of his skills, he was rewarded an amount of money. While Reggie Bush was playing at the University of Southern California, statistics show that the college generated roughly fifty-five million dollars. That’s a lot of money for one athlete to bring in. Every day we hear more and more stories about NCAA investigators and colleges being punished for “paying” players. However, college athletes bring in a lot of money. Therefore, they should get a percentage whether it is a small amount or a large amount. It will depend on the athletes’ ability. While some may argue that paying college athletes to play is wrong, college athletes have a marketable skill and should be paid for their skill.

If you really think about NCAA student athletes they have to do work on and off the field, Being a student athlete is pretty much a full time Job. Many Many athletes do indeed miss classes

College athletics assume a large role in the entertainment industry of America. Each week, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite team, buy tickets to go to the games, or spend money on university athletic merchandise to show their pride. The NCAA and universities benefit enormously from college sports. The top 10 total revenues generated by universities were all well over the $100,000,000 mark in 2012 (“College Finances 2012”). The University of Texas tops the list with $163,295,115 total revenue from athletics (“College Finances 2012”). Last football season, Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. As the first freshman to ever win the trophy, he propagated over 1.8 million media impressions which translated to $37 million of media exposure (Cook). The University’s licensing revenue jumped 23% this past year due to the success of one player (Cook). The NCAA itself generated $871,600,000 in revenue from the championship games (“College Finances 2012”). All of this revenue is impossible without the student-athletes. The NCAA is strict on making sure that athletes should be treated no different from any other student (Blias). However, the athletes are involved in a heavily commercialized multi-billion dollar industry. As amateurs, athletes remain restricted solely to scholarships as the only form

The only day off is Sunday. This seems a little far fetched for being college students. Oh, I forgot to mention the pay; $0. Student-athletes have a more demanding job, mentally and physically, yet they have little to show for it.

Most college athletes work hard to get drafted "11.6% of college baseball players play professional, 1.7% of college football players play professional, 1.2% of college basketball players play professional" (Here Are The Odds). For student athletes who work ninety hours a week for four or five years, in the long run they can get burned out and it can be difficult and damaging. In addition, most college athletes graduate but not all " According to the most recent Graduation Success Rate data, 82 percent of Division I freshmen scholarship student-athletes[...] In Division II, 73 percent of freshmen student-athletes who entered college graduate" (Graduation Success Rate).

One of the most controversial subjects we as individuals hear about this day in age is whether or not college athletes deserve to be paid. Many people argue that these athletes do intact, deserve to be paid for their time and hard work. NCAA athletes create a name for themselves by playing and performing well on their college teams. The better these athletes perform, the more publicity the school revives. This then leads to higher ticket sales and stores around campus selling jerseys and other clothing items with athletes names and numbers on the back. NCAA schools have become comfortable with using athletes’ names to bring in a revenue for the school, and yet the athletes never see any of that money. On the other hand, many people believe that these athletes do not deserve, nor should they expect to receive payment in return. They believe that these scholarships and the education are payment in itself. Some even bring up the question on if it is affordable or even realistic to pay college athletes.

College football is a necessary evil. If you want to go to the NFL, there are no loopholes, shortcuts, or ways around playing at the collegiate level first. The current rule prevents players fewer than three years removed from high school from entering the NFL Draft. Is three years too removed from high school too long to have to wait until being able to declare for the draft? Well, that’s an entirely different issue. However, during that three-year gap, collegiate athletes are prohibited from accepting any monetary gifts of any kind. An 18, 19, or 20-year-old is denied the right to receive compensation for his skills, abilities, and talents. Or, an even better question, is a college education, with the possibility of a future professional career, sufficient enough compensation for an athlete that risks their body and well-being on a weekly basis to

First, some say that college athletes should be paid because of the fact that the schools and the NCAA make billions. In an article from USA Today, it stated: “NCAA made more than $1 billion for the year” (Mama). On the other hand, they should not be paid because tons of the athletes get scholarships, they are rewarded with a free education, and they are technically getting around twenty-thousand dollars a year. First, in an article from Scholorshipstats.com in statistics from 2015 regarding the amount of scholarship money that was given out was nearly 2.2 billion dollars.

College athletes should not be paid. “ They argue that the main purpose of going to college is to get a education, not to make money” (“Should college”...1). College is not a job, it is a place to learn. Also many college athletes receive scholarships to attend that school. “The value of the scholarships athletes receive during four years of college can be well over $250,000” (Weiss et al.1). Therefore, athletes

How is it fair that college athletic programs rake in so much money from their respective sports and don’t have to pay for their labor? College athletics plays a major role in the sports world today and will continue to be as it is growing more and more popular. With this, is the ever-growing issue of athletes in their respective programs being paid as employees. This issue has been clouding college athletics for some time and it is becoming a much larger topic since athletes feel that they should be compensated for their services. Also, there have been several lawsuits filed against universities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Even though colleges offer full scholarships to athletes,

If someone plays a college sport he or she is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Meaning that athlete is a student-athlete and an amateur competitor. To remain eligible to compete, all athletes in the NCAA are not allowed to tryout, practice, or compete with a professional team or any professional players. Also cannot have a contract with a professional team. In addition, cannot receive any benefits from an agent or a potential agent. This means no contact with a sports agent. The most important rule that has to be followed, and the one that is under the most scrutiny is a student athlete cannot receive a salary for participating in athletics. (“Amateurism”, 2013)

Next to professional sports, the next big deal is collegiate level sports. If there was ever a place to find extremely passionate people, it is definitely in the collegiate sports arena. On the collegiate level, many players and coaches are hailed as celebrities and are treated like royalty. It is really important to maintain a certain type of character to be able to handle such an intensely powerful position.