Should College Athletes Be Paid?

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 ).

Michael Jordan once said, “In college I never realized the opportunities available to a pro athlete. I 've been given the chance to meet all kinds of people, to travel and expand my financial capabilities, to get ideas and learn about life, to create a world apart from basketball.” Michael Jordan is a huge face in sports and is well known all over the world and throughout all generations. In college at North Carolina University where he attended he talks about how there is more than just being an athlete. There is a life away from sports because one day you may became a professional athlete but then there comes a day that you retire and find joy in another part of your life. Tying this into the theme of “Should College Athletes be Paid?” can be determined upon the value of the students and others perspective of the game.

In America sports wherever there is people, there will also be sports. Sports have played a major role in American history. To some people sports is all they have. It is just the way that things are. The issue in sports now is that the NCAA exploit the sports world and the very backbone of the corporation is the poorest. It is an issue that has been around for quite some time now. The issue is that the sports world face is the fact that college athletes are not paid, although they perform in a multibillion dollar industry. The NCAA basically has a monopoly on college athletics, and generate about one billion dollars a year. College sports are extremely demanding both in and out of season, and these athletes put their future on the line. The NCAA should be legally obligated to compensate athletes, based solely on the fact that the money made, is from their performance.

Jarrod Uthoff, a Cedar Rapids native, left a legacy at the University of Iowa. He scored 30 points in one half at one of the most hostile arenas, Iowa State. He has made history by now being one of the Big Tens most dominate players. He was named Mr.Basketball in 2011 and also Gatorade Player of the Year. They put in around half of their time practicing their sport and that is without school work involved, according to Peter Jacobs author of an article from college student athletes. Yet after all that time they are not getting paid. As of right now the student-athletes do not get a wage, but they do get a scholarship, which is why this is such an important topic because the college players are a huge part of this issue. Many people

“But Whittenburg beats Anders to the ball, retrieves it and with the clock showing 0:02 he heaves a 35-foot desperation shot. Charles, reading the shot all the way, leaps, snatches the ball from the air and slams the ball into the net with a second left” (Espn). Fans all over the world pay hundreds of dollars to view college sports games similar to this one. People are about as entertained as they can get. But how much do they players make for this? It 's an argument that pops up every year approaching the legendary NCAA basketball championships. College athletes should not be paid by the NCAA because it would be too difficult to determine the amount each player earns from the NCAA, schools can have unfair advantages over one another recruiting wise, and athletes who receive full scholarships gain advantages for the rest of their life.

One of the many controversial issues regarding college sports is whether athletes should be paid or not. The argument against paying college athletes is often that they are already paid in the form of full ride scholarships for a free education, for one, and two that college is for amateurs and to pay them would mean that they are professionals and not student-athletes. But as a college student myself I can tell you a scholarship does not cover all the expenses of college. College sports is big business there is no question about it, but how is a non-profit able to generate billions of dollars on the backs of athletes who never see that money? Karl Marx would call this an exploitation of labor. The essential issue here is that, given the measure of cash that is put into school sports and the enormous benefits that big time college athletics create, would we be able to truly say that the players are amateurs? Or are they just slaves working for the universities? In Dorfman 's article, Pay College Athletes? They 're Already Paid Up To $125,000 Per Year, he supports that athletes should not be paid. On the other hand, in Nocera 's article, Here 's How TO Pay Up Now, he defends that athletes deserve to be paid as well as Taylor Branch’s article in The Atlantic titled The Shame of College Sports. In this essay a connection will be made between Karl Marx 's views and their implications on college athletics.

Helen Hayes expresses that “ the expert in anything was once a beginner.” This quote relates to all athletes in pursuance of making themselves noticeable. Being an amature at sports is an athletes worst fear. Any athlete who is passionate about their sport, wants to succeed in the world of sports; therefore, the rising athletes want to continue their success in college. College is a place where the athletes start to receive fans and begin their journey of success. However, beginning the college experience is like throwing away one’s money because of all the collegian’s expenses. Many college athletes of today are accumulating debt in college instead of collecting money for their dedication and hardwork. The ongoing debate on whether or not college athletes should be paid is starting to raise sport fans and athlete’s attention about the issue. People are starting to realize the true facts about playing college sports and that it is not just fun and games anymore. Athletes are merely performers and the audience is just enjoying the show. With that being said, college athletes are being profited off of without receiving their paycheck. College athletes should be paid because the college they are attending is expensive, businesses are profiting off of them, and the hard work of an athlete is not being paid for.

Throughout the years college sports have been about the love of the game, filled with adrenaline moments. However, the following question still remains: Should college athletes get paid to play sports in college? Seemingly, this debate has been endless, yet the questions have gone unanswered. The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) plays a vital role in this debate. The NCAA is a billion dollar industry, but yet sees that the athlete should get paid for their hard work and dedication.

For years now there have been the argument if college athletes should be paid to play or not. It is an ongoing debate between many people including the National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA), athletes, coach, and other various people. The has debate has gone far enough that a lawsuit has started over it. There are many arguments for college athletes being paid such as; the athletes do not have time to work, their images are being used without any type of pay, and how the NCAA and coaches make millions of dollars off of the players while the players do not make anything. On the flip side of this, arguments that the athletes should not be paid include; they get paid in other varies ways, the average college athletic department loses enough money already without paying the athletes, and the fact that not all college athletes are in school to become professional athletes anyhow so making money from their athletic abilities should not be an issue for them at all.

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.

The grand debate of whether to pay college athletes continues today; yet, there are so many other amenities provided to the athletes that they are practically paid through those. College athletes are considered amateurs therefore they should not be paid. This debate has been going on for many years and there has not been a consensus on what to do.

College sports these days are a huge money pit. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, makes millions of dollars off of student athletes every year. Should the NCAA start sharing the profits with these student athletes, which every year help grow the NCAA brand? It’s an important question that seems to come up every day on television, the internet, and even in the newspaper. Student athletes are going to college on scholarships, which are sold to them by coaches, scouts, and other school administration as a commitment to the student’s future. All they ask is for the student athlete to make a commitment to the school by signing a contract to attend, which is called the “letter of intent.” By signing that contract, the student makes a commitment to attend that school for at least a four year term. In return for their talent, shouldn’t the school make a better commitment to help keep the student athlete in school?

Before, college athletics was a stepping stone towards the athletes professional future. Now in the 21st century, it is a lucrative business. D-I college athletics is the majority of income for major universities. They collect money from ticket sales, merchandise, T.V. contracts, etc. The athletes, however, receive a scholarship and not much more. Even though receiving a college education is something most people would not complain about, when these athletes practice longer than the average American work week and don 't receive money to sustain themselves, it is time for a change. Athletes dedicate their lives to a sport and train hard to make it big. There has been a lot of controversy whether or not student athletes should be paid, and

What has become a reoccurring topic of debate within sports, is whether or not college athletes should be paid. When referring to college athletes the main focus is on basketball and football athletes. The sports of both basketball and football in the NCAA generate the most revenue amongst all other college sports. The combined profit of these two sports go through a trickling down process, in which the income is distributed amongst the other sports teams of the university. The ideal thing to expect is to pay all college athletes, the reality is that only football and basketball players will be paid.

Over the past few decades, college athletics have grown in popularity, making collegiate sports the most revenue producing attraction at a college or university. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) additionally receives an abundant share of the revenue the colleges have profited. With the two large corporations receiving this share of money, the debate as to whether college athletes should be compensated beyond the traditional scholarship has become an issue in all colleges and universities. To avoid the athletes thinking they are not being acknowledged for their worth, the National Collegiate Athletic Association should establish new means to compensate college athletes that does not involve any form of an employee salary.