Should College Athletes Be Paid?

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 1906 the NCAA was born as a discussion group and rule making committee. The NCAA is a Non-profit organization, which is why players cannot be paid. For years the NCAA has been using the words “amateur” and “student athlete” in order for them to control and limit the benefits of these players, but while watching these players it is clear to tell they are far from amateur in a skill level perspective, which is shown when they garner the attentions of millions every Saturday during football season or during March Madness. College athletes are money making machines for the NCAA. It is time for the NCAA to get their hands out of their pockets and pay these players like they deserve, paying college athletes has been discussed for years and years now, but with schools like Northwestern being able to unionize and the celebrity of these athletes on the rise this will still be a heated debate. These student athletes put everything on the line for the sport they love, their time, their education, their health, all just to make the NCAA richer when they are just another number to them.

College athletics have amounted to enormous popularity among Americans over the past few decades. This has resulted into increased revenues for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and the participating colleges, which has started the debate of whether college athletes should be rewarded beyond their athletic scholarships. This paper will attempt to answer the question as to whether college athletes should be paid by explaining some pros and cons of this subject.

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.

Throughout the United States college athletes are forced into debt due to busy athletic requirements on top of standard coursework. A great percentage of athletes finish their athletic career without even graduating college with a degree. These athletes are a huge marketing tool for this universities, from the sales of their jerseys, to using their talent to showcase their brand/logo on television, and also making millions of dollars off of contracts with television networks. Because of this I believe college athletes should be compensated for the time and dedication during their time as an athlete in college

The scholarships given to college athletes are not sufficient enough to sustain them throughout the year, which is why I believe they should get paid and receive benefits. Student athletes, especially football and basketball players, play a major role in generating revenue for schools, businesses, coaches and the players do not see a penny. College athletes often do not have money in their pockets for extra food, clothes, housing and extracurricular activities. They also can potentially get dropped from their teams due to injury, leaving them incapable of paying for college. College athletes should be treated like every other employee because they work hard, and make everyone but themselves a lot of money.

Undoubtedly, there are numerous perspectives around the world on whether or not college athletes should be paid. The National Collegiate Athletic Association currently enforces a strict policy regarding the way college athletes receive benefits. If individuals are supplying certain collegiate athletes with benefits they should not, the NCAA tries to find the source and eliminate it immediately. These punishments are often harsh and can lead to an extermination of a sports program for a certain amount of time, even if only one person is to blame. There are experts in the world that fight against the rules of the NCAA because of the strict of punishments they give out. Experts also wish for these athletes to be paid because of the revenue

Over the past few decades college sports has grown in popularity across the United States. But it hasn’t been until recent years that many Americans have started to argue about the big revenues generated by many of the elite sports programs. However the big question that stands out is: should the athletes generating millions of dollars worth of profit a year for their University receive any of the money for their performance? Even though student athletes don’t receive a big paycheck at the end of the month, in one way or the other they do receive rewarding benefits through scholarships and grants because of their ability to be successful on the playing field. Thus, college athletes should not be paid because they are receiving a free education through scholarships and earning countless other benefits for being part of the university’s athletic program.

With these reason in mind, people can empathize and support the student athletes. They go through lots of obstacles in exchange for the education; however, they are standing on the verge of danger. The student athletes would be losing the scholarship any time the NCAA says so. They also are risking their health for every tournament and practice. Therefore, the NCAA should pay student athletes for their high performance on the field and for their sweat at

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.

Well I mean they do work long hours practicing. Being in class and studying makes it even harder for them to have spare time. What about the players that have to use the scholarship as the only way to receive an education? Some people do not have family to help support them and if they have no time for a job how will they get by? I see it like this; Players should get something but not necessarily a wage or a paycheck. There are numerous ways players good get paid besides additional funding from the school. The NCAA could most definitely shake loose some of their rules. Let the players receive new Nikes from a sponsorship or a kid that looks up to them. Let those hardworking, no time for anything, injury sustaining young players receive something, at least a little something, besides free education they barely have time for because of practices, games, pep rallies, and camps. The NCAA is too strict on these players about accepting outside sources of money, free meals, and plenty of other helpful sources (Rosenburg 2). I’m all for student athletes getting paid in some way and form but maybe not a salary or four

Being a college athlete myself, the one question that tends to be asked by most of the

There has always been a big controversial debate on whether college athletes should receive some type of compensation for playing Division one sports. Many college teams pile up huge revenue from football games, basketball games, and many other different sports. Although the university piles up huge amounts of that money, not one penny goes towards any of the athletes. Even though they’re the reason why universities are getting rich from all the money the sports have obtained, the revenue that usually comes from game tickets, sponsorships, and booster clubs. Also college athletics have a huge popularity among Americans over the past few years, more American have turned their heads to watching collegiate sports rather than watching professional sports, to the fact that its way more exciting. This has resulted into increased revenues for the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the other colleges that’s participating with this, in this case the debate of whether college athletes should be compensated beyond their athletic scholarships. Student athletes have worked hard, have dedicated themselves to the sport and also sacrificed their own time for the sport they love.

The NCAA has had debates before of whether or not they believe college athletes should get paid because often most of the students have been or are covered with scholarships that cover fees, meal plans and their tuition. Even though the

First of all, college athletes work countlessly to help their team. According to www.listland.com, NCAA athletes spend an average of 43.3 hours on their sport, when the average american works only 34.4 hours per week. NCAA athletes work harder and longer than the average american but don’t have a salary. NCAA’s own tournament schedule require students to miss class for nationally televised games. If students were to miss class, it should be important if they were making money. Also, they are missing out on what they paid for, an education. How the NCAA can repay them is by actually paying the athletes. This why college athletes deserve to be paid, because they work hard for no apparent reason