Should College Student Athletes Be Paid Essay

In trying to decide what research topic I wanted to use, I took many ideas into thought. I decided that the one idea that interests me most is whether student athletes should be paid or not. This is very intriguing to me since my master’s program is sports management. In order to do this research there must be many ways to use research as well as ideas from other people. This project is a very big topic in today’s discussion amongst sport fans, college administrators, and student athletes themselves. Media has recently put more pressure on this topic as well with the Northwestern decision to unionize as well as pointing out an athletic director gaining an $18,000 supplement for a wrestler at their school winning a national

Although athletes come to play their sports at the next level they are still considered student-athletes if hundreds of thousands of dollars are given away to a lot of just one and done college players who are just using college as a gateway to their professional careers how does this growing thing continue to affect regular students. If continuous money is handed out to athletes then what percentage is left to give to other unfortunate students that are in need and want to receive a valuable education. For athletes getting an education to essentially fall back on is in their best interest, making it to the professional level isn’t promised anything could go wrong. After making the decision to try and it doesn’t work out would leave large amounts of money wasted and the athlete may be stuck without a clue of what to do because they aren’t able to turn back and get their education or continue pursuing their college major.

Should college student-athletes be paid has become a much debated topic. The incentive for a student-athlete to play a college sport should not be for money, but for the love of the game. It has been argued that colleges are making money and therefore the student-athlete should be compensated. When contemplating college income from sporting events and memorabilia from popular sports, such as football and basketball, it must not be forgotten that colleges do incur tremendous expense for all their sports programs. If income from sports is the driving factor to pay student-athletes, several major problems arise from such a decision. One problem is who gets a salary and the second problem is how much should they be paid. Also, if the income

There are many ways that student athletes could be paid besides flat out giving them salaries. A very one would be to allow the players to sign endorsement deals while in college. Signing contracts with large companies is prohibited by the NCAA but by allowing players to join brands they can earn money for themselves. In addition to this, the NCAA could allow boosters (mainly alumni who donate to the team) to give gifts to the athletes. For example if the athlete cannot afford a computer to do his school work the booster could lend the athlete one to use.

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Did you know that the average out of state tuition for college is 35,370 dollars, and college athletes get that for free for their ability to play a sport? In a total of four years in a out of state college the total is $141,480. Instead of you paying for college all you have to do is play the sport for free education.

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 ).

Although coaches and staff can make millions of dollars, student athletes are playing sports but are students first; therefore student athletes should not be paid. They already receive payment by receiving scholarships, in many cases were college is already paid for. Colleges in different financial situations might have more or less of the ability of actually paying their

College athletes make billions for their schools, but only get a scholarships in return. Adele Birkenes, a fellow student states that “College football and men’s basketball generate revenues of more than $6 billion every year. Yet not one penny goes toward paying the people who make the sports possible: the student athletes.” (7) With the long practices the athletes put in, and all of the game film they have to watch on top of their homework, it is like doing two jobs at once and they should get more than a scholarship in return. The players will be left with something after college instead of just a ring or a goodbye. (Pay to

College Athletes already receive significant amounts of money. Some people are aware enough to realize that student athletes on athletic scholarship are essentially paid already because they receive free tuition, room, meal plans, and some money for books and miscellaneous expenses (Dorfman). At the bigger, more successful universities, athletes also receive academic counseling, tutoring, life skill training, and even nutritional advice. Certainly, not all student athletes are on scholarship and not all are on full scholarships but the student athletes in the revenue sports are receiving compensation in the form of educational benefits and living expenses. Traveling around the world is another privilege these student-athletes are afforded. Many college athletes are being reimbursed with nearly as much money as the average American makes per year (Dirlam).

The ugly truth behind the money machine that is college sports is that, every year, college athletes are deceived by the institutions the compete for into making them millions of dollars, with relatively little in return. Athletes are said to be given a chance to attend college and to attain a free college degree. However, research has shown that this is not completely true for two reasons. For one, the student athlete will spend most of their time in preparation for competition. Secondly, what education the student athlete does receive hardly serves them outside of maintaining eligibility just so

College athletics are a huge part of the culture of the university and sports. The best of the best high school athletes go on to compete at an even bigger platform and competition through college sports. Universities put in money through recruitment to find the right kind of athlete for their school. These athletes, through all their hard work and commitment, are rewarded different scholarships to continue their sports. At the top level of college sports, athletes receive a plentiful scholarship of full tuition and room and board. That type of scholarship can range from $100,000 to even a $180,000 depending on the school. Other students at the same university, who are not playing sports, are expected to cover this tuition themselves. This large sum encourages athletes to put all their time and resources to the sport that they came to school to play. Even with the scholarship money that is given, some believe that college athletes should be paid to play their sports. This is a problem especially at the highest levels in NCAA football and basketball. NCAA sports have a unique competitive atmosphere that also encourages education; however, that would be lost if college athletes were being paid to play.

The ugly truth behind the money machine that is college sports is that, every year, college athletes are deceived by the institutions the compete for into making them millions of dollars, with relatively little in return. Athletes are said to be given a chance to attend college and to attain a free college degree. However, research has shown that this is not completely true for two reasons. For one, the student athlete will spend most of their time in preparation for competition. Secondly, what education the student athlete does receive hardly serves them outside of maintaining eligibility just so

While not all student athletes are on scholarship, many are; particularly those who are playing for schools we see winning national championships. In addition to free tuition and room and board, these college athletes also often receive help towards books and other basic needs. This money does not have to be paid back. Most other students are not receiving these benefits, and will come out of school with a great big student loan debt. Student athletes already have it easier, financially, than most of the students at their school. That’s why some people answer the question “Should student athletes be paid?” with a firm no.

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

With the progression of sports, society has encouraged and enjoyed watching athletes from all different age groups. Based on a current study from the NCAA recruiting facts, only 2 % of high school athletes are awarded scholarships.. These athletes work hard during their four years of high school maintaining their grades in order to play in the hopes that they get selected to play in college. Some of these students need a scholarship in order to attend college, because they can’t afford it. The scholarships to colleges, usually cover full tuition and fees, room and board, and books. According to Lauren Deutsch with the Crimson White Paper, Student athletes are one of the top generators for colleges bringing in a substantial amount of revenue for the college. “In 2015, Alabama football generated $95,132,301 in revenue, according to the Tuscaloosa News. Even accounting for $48,640,971in expenses, including Coach Saban’s 7 million salary, we still turned a 46 million profit” (Deutsch). Many of the scholarships are not for 4 years, but renewable annually. If the athlete gets injured or is unable to play then they lose their scholarship leaving them unable to pay for their education.