Arian Foster, former running back for University of Tennessee, said “Indentured Servant definition is exactly what a student athlete is; [they] get food, accommodations, and training, but not paid.” (qtd. in Finkel, Martin, and Paley). Being a college athlete is a full time job, add in the travel, homework, and having to go to class. Is there even anytime to work a part time job to make some money? All college athletes are under a giant spotlight. Every move they make is watched and judged closely by the NCAA to make sure they don’t break the amateur rule. They are not allowed to accept anything from anyone, and many don’t have enough money to even buy themselves food to eat. College athletes not only draw audiences to the games, but …show more content…
Athletics are a big attraction to many students when looking at colleges. When college sports programs have success, research done by Pope and Pope show that there is a boost in applications that the colleges receive from students. “Applications [after] a Championship add 7-8 percent, with a big effect in the immediate year and little effect after one year.” It was found that when colleges have winning athletic teams get more applications sent in from all levels of student and not just athletes. This is found true for basketball and football. Not only increase in applications is found but also found after success in football there is a growth in enrollment, this is not found true for basketball (Getz and Siegfried “What Does Intercollegiate Athletics Do…”). “David Schmidly the president of the University of New Mexico said “One of the most effective ways to market your university nationally is to have a really quality athletic program. It helps recruit faculty, students, and donors. It helps with the image of the whole university.” (qtd. in Getz and Siegfried “College Sports: The Mystery of the Zero-Sum Game.”) Athletics not only bring people
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 ).
What college athlete would not want to be paid to play the sport that he or she loves? The real question is, though, should college athletes be paid for their roles in a college’s athletics? They are many points to each side of this recent controversial topic, which is why this has been made into such a hot debate in the past couple of years. As of right now, these athletes are not getting paid, but many of them truly believe that they should. Others believe that they already are being paid through certain types of scholarships and don’t deserve anything more than that. With that being said, there are two sides of this topic that have quality points.
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.
Another year has come and gone in which thousands of fans have been able to enjoy a variety of sports at the collegiate level. Many spectators of collegiate sports would affirm that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) provides as much entertainment as professional sports; a fact that is prove to by the organization’s annual revenue, which nets more than $6 billion yearly (Fitzel, 3). Interestingly enough, National Basketball Association (NBA) generates less then college football and basketball (the value, 7). There is one key difference between the NBA and the NCAA. NBA players are paid on a commission basis for the revenue they help bring in. On the other hand, NCAA athletes are denied any monetary compensation. NCAA athletes are promised a free education if they dedicate themselves completely to their sports (Schneider, 2). This essay seeks to explore the reasons and consequences of not paying these college athletes, as well as the ethics of doing so. It will explore both points of view to answer the question “should college athletes be paid to play?” This issue is relevant to student athletes, Division One Universities, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association. For this analysis it is important to note the definition of a student athlete. A student athlete is described as a full time student who participates in a sport at the school he or she attends. Additionally, Division One Universities are institutions that offer up to a doctorate degree for
Universities establish their reputation in their accreditation, the success rate of their students, and believe it or not, their athletic achievements. Upon applying to colleges, an applicant will almost always base their interest in the institution on its educational value, location, student feedback, and sports. Many of these universities grant extremely generous scholarships to student athletes, offering them a practically free education. While some agree with this method of accommodation, others argue that these athletes are being taken advantage of. They contest the college’s intentions by claiming that it is simply profiting from the labor of its football and basketball teams. The current question at hand is whether or not colleges and universities should pay their student athletes. However, I believe that doing so would devalue the university’s education by insinuating that athletics are greater than or come before academics. This would also be an unfair advantage, given the countless other students that get academic scholarships and take part in collegiate clubs but receive no additional monetary help. There are also the students of the arts who participate in numerous performances and events that are equivalent to the work put forth by sports players. Therefore, in its simplest of terms, paying student athletes would just be inequitable.
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
There is no doubt some of the highest salaries in America belong to professional athletes. Whether it’s LeBron James’s $19.3 million dollar salary with the Cleveland Cavaliers or Matt Ryan’s $42 million dollar deal with the Atlanta Falcons, professional athlete’s salaries prove just how valuable the players are to whatever organization they are a part of. (Forbes.com) In 2014 the average professional football franchise was valued at $1.4 billion and the average professional basketball franchise was valued at $1.1 billion so it’s no wonder why athletes can be paid such high sums of money.(Forbes.com) Besides professional sports American’s love college athletics, college football in particular. Drawing in an average of 44,997 fans per game
All Division 1 athletes put their heart and soul into the sport that they work so hard for day after day, week after week, month after month. For many years, athletes’ passion and hard work for the game that they play has gotten them an opportunity to attend a university where they are able to showcase their talent and ability at one of the highest amateur levels of athletics. When one makes it to the Division 1 level, playing sports is more or less a business. The job that one has as a student athlete is to play sports and make a profit for the college he or she attends. In the past years, there has been one controversial question that lingers in the minds of athletes, sports analysts and fans across the nation. Should Division 1 athletes be paid to participate? Division 1 student athletes should not receive payment or a salary for competing in college athletics.
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.
When the topic of college comes up, many things come to mind. Those are the glory days for most of us. The college parties, the struggle to find a balance between having fun and maintaining a good GPA, and not to mention the amazing athletic departments that colleges offer. Everyone enjoys sports but does anyone ever stop to wonder how much goes into the preparation for those games? There’s much more effort that’s put into it other than just showing up for practice. It’s definitely a lot more work than your average college student which is why the question of whether or not college athletes should get paid comes up. Football alone brings in millions of dollars a year; and with all of that money floating around, it comes as a surprise that
College sports are one of the largest and fastest growing markets in today’s culture. With some college sports games attracting more viewers than their professional counterparts, the NCAA is one of the most profiting organizations in America. Recently there has been controversy in the world of college sports as to whether the college athletes that are making their universities and the NCAA money should receive payment while they are playing their respective sport. Many believe that these athletes should be paid. Others argue that they are already receiving numerous benefits for playing that sport from their universities. Many of the proponents of paying college athletes are current or former college athletes who believe their hard work and hours put into practice and competing go under appreciated. They feel that while the athletes are making the university money, the athletes do not receive any cut of these profits. Opponents feel that athletes already receive numerous perks and should not receive extra compensation on top of the perks they already receive.
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.
The hot topic in amateur sports has been as to whether or not college athletes should be paid. The NCAA amateur rule states that an athlete in college sports cannot be paid other than their athletic scholarship. These athletes spend a tremendous amount of time at school practice and then working on schoolwork after practice. The NCAA is an organization that oversees all of the athletes that make up the basic unit of intercollegiate sports. The success of the NCAA whether it’s through the sale of merchandise, game day revenue or NCAA tournaments that each individual sports has, despite the absolute success of these tournaments these athletes receive any monetary compensation .Some of the main reasons why the NCAA lack of payments are that it wants to maintain its amateur status and
Not only do the players not get paid, athletes are required to be at least three years removed from high school graduation before they’re eligible to play pro ball. Paying these athletes would eliminate many of College Football’s biggest problems such as recruiting violations and giving star players an incentive to stay longer. College athletes need some pay because of the fact that playing a collegiate port is a full-time job. With all of practices, games and film sessions, it is impossible to get a job. College students almost need a job to generate funds for food and extra spending money.
Student athletes commonly go to school for one reason: their love for the sport they participate in. These student athletes get scholarships from large Division 1 schools, which means things such as schooling, board, and food will be paid for by the school so the student athletes do not have to pay for these benefits themselves (Patterson). If college athletes are to be paid, it will cause unfair compensation between players who are valued or played more than others. When student athletes are rewarded with a scholarship, they have nothing school related that they would need to pay for. This can lead them to blow all of their income on unnecessary or dangerous things such as drugs and alcohol which could get them removed from the team they