Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Some other reasons why college athletes should not get paid are because, if they were to get paid they may focus more on their sport rather than their school work and studies. Not only is trying to balance both school and sports hard enough but if they were to get paid they may not want to focus on what there actually there for, which is their education. Paying college athletes could also cause the student to have poor money management. The students may end up getting themselves in trouble more easily or fall into bad habits. Legal troubles are always an obstacle in which college students could fall into which could end there career. Another reason college athletes should not get paid is because with the big schools such has Alabama, Florida, Indiana, or Kentucky they would bring in more money compared to smaller schools such as Loyola

Centuries ago in the 1770s the first sport known as cricket originated in England. As time passed by more sports began originating in England such as football and basketball. These sports became very popular worldwide and were incorporated in Universities as extra-curricular activities. As more students started playing some students demonstrated more talent than others. One of the sports students played was football which in the United States college football became a national obsession. More people became intrigued by football and this sport began bringing a lot of money by filling up the stands. The issue of paying these athletes began arising, so the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) decided to give them a free education

The excitement of Bowl week in The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is again upon us. This week brings out the die-hard fans all excited and tailgating, but with it comes big business. This business in 2010 broke the $1 billion mark in profits for colleges as reported by CNNMoney.com. With those kinds of profits always dangling in the wind it leads to a question that is asked and argued year after year. Should the stars of the show “the collegiate athlete” be paid for his/her services?

The NCAA makes an average of almost 1 billion dollars per year, there has been a huge discussion and controversy going on about whether or not college athletes should get paid or not. There have been numerous cases where student’s athletes have had consequences brought upon them because they have taken improper benefits from booster or even their own coaches. The NCAA makes plenty of money off these athletes from sporting events to jersey sales. College athletes are expected to miss numerous amounts of class time do to the nationally televised games that bring in revenue. I also believe if paid there will be a huge decrease in athletes accepting improper benefits from booster and other. For these reasons that I have listen this is why I

According to Andrea Castro from Borderzine, “Only 1% of college players go pro and only a smaller percentage are able to play overseas” (Castro). Athletes deserve to get paid when they play professionally but only 1% of college athletes actually make it to the professional level. But those that did not go professional now could use the free education they have obtained and make a living off of whatever they studied. Andrea Castro uses a college football player as an example, “Trevor Vittatoe, former University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) star quarterback. ‘After trying for two years, I've fallen short of making the NFL roster” (Castro). Even though Trevor Vittatoe was a star quarterback at the University of Texas, he still was not able to play professional football. This goes to show the scarcity of people going to play professional sports, and if a student athlete is looking for pay trying to make the professional league would not be a easy task and the revenue aspect would be a reward for making it to that level. Paying college athletes would defeat the purpose of professional

Funding is also said to impact the particular athletes that agree to attend the university. As many athletes attending universities seek scholarship, because of the rising cost of tuition. For UC Irvine Track and Field, scholarships are stretched in an attempt to assist as many athletes the head coach feels should receive. The splitting of funding allows more athletes receive help. During Coach Carter’s years on the track team, she remembered only 1 of the 70+ athletes was given a full ride. According to the coaches, there was a time when the athletes had to purchase their own running shoes and sponsored gear, where many other programs are provide this.

Televised sports help people watch games, without you actually being present at the event. Whether it’s the NBA, the NFL, or even the NCAA, which is the National Collegiate Athletic Association, people see their favorite games all over the sports channels. Two out of the three groups I have listed have their athletes being paid. The NCAA does not believe in rewarding their athletes. When college athletes get hurt, they do not get paid. Although, I agree with colleges not compensating students who are injured, overall they should get paid for their hard work.

One of the main reasons that people believe college athletes should be paid, is because of how much money they bring in for the school.

It is illegal for cooperation, a business, in which the NCAA clearly states it is a business, not to pay its employees. Student-athletes are employees for the university, but are not labelled as one to avoid compensation for working. Meanwhile, student-workers at universities all over the nation are considered employees of the school, so are student-athletes.

Playing college sports is a full time job and should be a paying one at that considering how much effort and hard work is put into the game. There has been an ongoing controversy about if college athletes should be paid or not. College athletes should be paid because they put a lot of heart into the game. This passion, that they put into the game, brings in a lot of money for other people yet they can’t see any of the money that they’re making for other people. Some of these athletes have a scholarship to play, but these scholarships don’t cover everything that is needed to survive and thrive in a college atmosphere. Some of these thoughts have surfaced about not paying college athletes because some people deem college sports an amateur playing field. This causes some athletes to take things into their own hands because they are not properly financially taken care of due to the money hungry thoughts of others. Surviving in college is an enormous problem, but it is not as extensive as having lifelong health problems due to playing in college.

There are a few things that separate professional athletes from college athletes. What separates them is that professionals receive money for their hard work and dedication to their specific sport. When you think about it, the professional athletes get paid for what they do best while the college athletes juggle academics, social life, jobs, etc. To me, that is absurd. However, college athletes are receiving pay for the time they spend playing their sports. The college athletes pay is actually an education. Therefore, despite the salaries of college coaches, the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) annual income, the responsibilities of

Collegiate athletes attend college to master their craft before going professional, and should not be paid. This also does not factor in other things such as injury and other issues that could arise. Colleges paying students to perform is not merited and would only cause more problems. Scholarships are important because they allow a student who could not usually attend college for free with the only requirement being that they play on the football team. That is why student athletes should not get paid, because they are already receiving a free education. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) of college football would be nothing without its players. The NCAA is broken up into three divisions, going from best known and talented universities in division one to the least known and talented universities in division three. Depending on the talent of the high school player he can pick from any of the three divisions. If that same player reaches the ultimate goal of a college football player, which is to be recruited to the Nation Football League (NFL) then that player is known as a Premium college player. Universities that would pay college football players would set a precedent that sports are more important than an education, which is why they should not get paid.

The NCAA often states that paying college athletes would destroy the competitiveness of the sport. This argument is refutable. The NFL pays its players based on their worth and their performance. The payments offered to professional players only motivate them to work harder to be the best. This hard work also leads to salary increases in the form of media exposure and sponsorship deals. Suggesting that payment has ruined the competition in the NFL is informationally wrong. If the NCAA paid its athletes, the students would not have to add extra stress worrying about where they will get their money from. If students did not have to worry about their finances, they would finish their four years of education and get that degree. This helps prevent tired and burnt out athletes from not giving it they are all on the field. Instead of chasing part time jobs, athletes could focus more on their game to earn higher rewards. They could use the extra energy and passion straight into their game to become a bigger, better competitors which would, in turn, make the NCAA more money (Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Be

Athletes simply can’t fit a part time job around their hectic schedule of attending their sports training and practices while also keeping up with their classes and school work. This inability to hold a job leaves many college athletes in a murky situation. They don’t have time to hold a job and generate spending money for themselves, schools aren’t allowed to provide them much beyond the essentials of a scholarship--such as books, food, and room/board, and they aren’t allowed to sign endorsement deals or profit off of their own likeness in any manner. The NCAA is holding college athletes in a state of financial purgatory. To exemplify this point, Bill Plaschke, a writer for the Los Angeles Times, writes

It is true that college football players do not have time to have a well established job. Without a job the players are unable to acquire money for when they finish college. This inhibits their independence, most move in with family until they attain enough money to support themselves. Many players go to schools across the country from their families; it is expensive to fly across the country, and many athletes would use the extra money to visit their