The Importance Of Sports In Sports

Since the beginning of organized sports athletes have been pouring their heart and soul into playing the sport their hearts desire. It has always been the love of the game, the hard work and dedication that student athletes to the collegiate level. When athletes reach the collegiate level it is more or less a business, and their job is to bring in a profit for the university. Over the past few years students and others have wondered: should college athletes be paid? Student athletes shouldn’t be paid because they do get scholarships and it would be harmful to the university budget as a whole. In this essay I will discuss the effects of paying student athletes on the university and other athletes. Also, addressing issues such as exploitation and showing how much athletes are really receiving.

A highly debated topic in college sports today is whether or not schools should begin to pay their athletes. As major college sports become more popular, more money is being brought into universities because of their athletics. High level Division 1 coaches and athletic directors make millions of dollars, and some are the highest paid state employees if they are at a public institution. Because of the profits athletes can generate for schools, student-athletes should receive some amount of compensation in addition to any scholarships they have. In my essay, I will present the argument for and against paying college athletes on an economic level. I will also examine recent court cases involving the issue. Athletes being paid illegally

All around the world sports are the topic of discussion, both teams and athletes bring forth millions of viewers to see what a sports team is made up of. College is where a student gets the opportunity to shine. If a college athlete possesses a significant amount of talent they have the potential to become a professional. At a college level, students don’t receive payment; regardless of what level an athlete is on, when an individual has a natural talent the individual should be paid for doing what he is good at. This idea of not paying student athletes needs to change because these student athletes have become involved in a craft and deserve compensation for their involvement. Three key elements that is discussed in this essay will give probable cause for athletes to be compensated. The three factors that are analyzed in this essay is the commitment of time that a player sets into his or her sport, the large debt accumulated while in school, and the amount of money colleges earn through student athletes. All three aspects are valid reasons as to why colleges must start paying their athletes.

Colleges are infamous for pouring millions upon millions of dollars into their sports programs, except of course, when it comes to paying athletes. Because college athletes are not allowed to be paid in accordance to federal law while they simultaneously create large sums of revenue, there has been a heated debate that Kristi Dosh and Mark Cassell readily provide contrasting evidence for. In Dosh’s article, “The Problems with Paying College Players,” she argues that it would not be fair to pay college players because many college sports programs are already indebted to their school, and if some schools couldn’t afford to pay their players, the well-funded schools would be at an unprecedented advantage. To contrast, Cassell’s “College Athletes Should be Able to Negotiate Compensation,” takes the viewpoint defending college athletes’ pay because the athletes that bring in the most revenue, the star players, are cheated out of compensation in a way that unrightfully benefits those in charge. Although Dosh makes clear points about problems with the financial realities of paying players, Cassell makes the more convincing argument because he uses effective evidence to highlight the injustices of not paying athletes.

College athletes arguably possess a similar and often equivalent skill set to that of a professional athlete and may even train just as hard as a professional athlete. However, a college students relationship to athletics is no different than a high school student who participates in their schools athletics program. These young athletes participate in their chosen sport without any expectation of monetary compensation in return. In fact, many athletes at non-professional levels pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually to participate in their chosen extracurricular sporting activities (Alderman, 2013). This is their choice and they are not financially compensated for it. These athletes play for the joy of the sport, life lessons and in some cases, the hopes of one day becoming a professional athlete.

The American dream of making a living in sports at both the collegiate and professional level grows each year. The youth of today’s society strive to join the ranks of the professional athletes they worship, and college is the beginning of that dream. Over the past few decades, college athletics have gained immense popularity across universities in the United States. Intercollegiate sports bring in a surplus of revenue to their respective universities as well as build a reputation for the college. Athletes attending Division I sports go to their particular schools in hopes of fulfilling their dream of making it professionally. There is a long-debated argument on whether college athletes at the Division I level should be paid to attend school

In the United States, how athletes in college are compensated has been controversial topic. While certain people believe that college athletes should not be paid since they receive scholarships, it would eliminate the main purpose of colleges, being about education (Acquaviva, 2015). On the other hand, certain people believe that college athletes should be paid for risking their bodies, for spending most of their time practicing, and for bringing in money and good publicity to their school and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). College Sports are about the athletes that push themselves to become one of the greatest that they can be, when others are in their bed sleeping or out partying, these individuals are pushing their bodies as well as their brains. Since these people dedicate their selves to these sports, should college athletes be financially compensated for their hard work? Those who take the position of supporting the notion of paying college athletes argue that the

Americans have become consumed by the world of college athletics. This excitement can be seen all around us. Here at the University of Florida, we experience the energy of division I college sports every day. Whether we choose to participate on football game days, wear Gator athletic apparel, or make conversation every day revolving around topics such as “Tebow’s non-existent NFL career” or “that one basketball player that kept us out of the championship”, the star athletes of our universities become household names across the country. Although it seems to be a life of fame and fortune for these individuals that live the life of a star student athlete, it comes at a cost. Today, college athletes are exploited because of the lack of

The argument about whether a college athlete should be compensated comes up several times a year, especially when the affluent“fat cat” businessmen are sitting at home counting their dollars off the backs of amateur athletes around championship time. The debate is whether amateur athletes that are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association should be compensated for their use of their name, likeness, and athletic skill. Conversely, there is an argument that college athletes are rewarded enough already with scholarships to universities and first looks from professional teams. The NCAA should be compensating college athletes while in school. Furthermore, two Michigan State University lawyers state that college athletes already qualify as laborers under federal labor laws (Cooper). The debate continues concerning compensation for college athletes, and in considering: arguments in favor of compensation for college athletes; arguments against compensation for college athletes; and weighing the evidence of the two arguments; a logical argument can be made in favor of compensation for college athletes.

Your body screams with every step. You gasp for the air you desperately long for. The urge to collapse to the ground, with your heart pounding in your ears. The pain drips from your chin, and drops onto the ground with a single, tiny splash. But you keep running through the bitter weather who is wearing you down. This is the daily warm-up every athlete has to power through to stay in their top-condition. In return, many professional athletes get paid millions of dollars. But, some people think that these athletes are being paid exorbitant amounts of money, whom they don’t deserve, because they believe high salaries should go to doctors and firefighters, who save the lives of others in their excruciating work. While others believe that athletes’ sacrifices to their health, and their dedicated time and energy to achieve their goals and dreams should be definitely be rewarded with a higher salary than most people. To look into the future, it is obvious that this issue’s outcome will open up revealing truths about an athlete’s salary. However, athletes are definitely not overpaid. If their salary was any lower, their hard work and bloodshed would go unnoticed. The risks of their overall health they experience daily would never be supported if those risks become a reality.

How much money do college sports teams bring in each year? How many endless hours of practice, do both the players and the coaches put in every week, so that they are prepared for the upcoming challenges in the games to come? Throughout the decades, college sports have played a major role in people’s lives. Each sport requires athletes to have excellent physical skill and a competitive drive that urges them to win and succeed. The competition between schools continues to grow making the possibility to play a sport in college very difficult. College sports range from being a runner in track to a Division I football player or a swimmer. Schools treat their athletes like kings and queens because they play an important role in the school in the way they contribute financially and academically. The young athletes learn leadership, time management, and how to work well with others to reach a common goal. Because of how important college athletics have become, many players have grown greedy and want more money than they already receive. However, Athletes are in college to earn a degree not a salary. College athletes who receive scholarship money and other personal benefits, such as a living expense budget on a stipend, should not be paid to play sports.

“The Chronicle of Higher Education recently estimated that college athletics is a $10-billion marketplace” (Suggs). With huge sums of revenue generated from college sports teams, players for the successful teams appear to be very marketable. “The National Collegiate Athletic Association, the largest collegiate sports organization in the United States, oversees much of the business of American college sports. For 2011-12, the NCAA reported $871.6 million in revenue-- 81 percent of which came from a broadcast rights agreement with Turner/CBS Sports. Another 11 percent came from sponsoring championships, such as the annual March Madness basketball tournament. No college sport generates more money every year than football. In 2012, Business Insider reported that the University of Texas ' football program generated more than $95 million the previous season, the most of any college in the United States. These revenues come largely from broadcast rights, ticket sales and merchandising” (Morgan). With all the grand amounts of money dealt and discussed through college athletics, student athletes being to wonder if they should be paid or not.

College athletics in the United States today are uniquely expansive and targeted towards a massive variety of consumers both domestically and internationally. Though college basketball and football are some of the most popular and recognizable sports today, other sports, like hockey and tennis, are also crucial to understanding the issue at hand. While sports and their respective athletes are most recognizable at the professional level, collegiate sports today are some of the most exciting and profitable in the industry of sports. Each year, collegiate sports organizations bring in millions, and at times billions, of dollars collectively through what can adequately be considered exploitation of collegiate athletes. Through their rigorous schedules, which forces them to balance their academic, athletic, and personal responsibilities, athletes are primed to perform at near-professional capacities to generate money while sacrificing personal compensation. This system is wholly unfair, as it devalues the individual worth and contribution of student athletes in a way that can be directly

All around the United States, millions of people can be found in front of their televisions for any type of collegiate athletic event. Between the winning buzzer-beater shots to the large rivalry games that remind people of their love for college sports, it should be no surprise that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) brings in billions of dollars yearly through their respected institutions. As collegiate sports have dominated the American entertainment industry, the question of paying these athletes is ever growing in today’s society. While the argument has persisted over the last few decades, paying college athletes may be one of the most controversial topics surrounding the NCAA to date.

In the economically driven world that we live in today we tend to compare salaries among professions and judge whether or not that amount is a just representation of their work. Salaries create a scale in which we associate the amount paid with the importance or impact of a job. We then come across certain professionals that many feel get paid unfairly for the level of importance of their job. This hot seat is usually reserved for professional athletes and their salaries. Are professional athletes overpaid? With the use of an argumentative essay I will explore this topic.