Young College Athletes

College sports are a phenomenon that keeps viewers coming back for more. Stated in an article on Money Nation the NCAA makes an estimated $1 billion per year and this number is still growing. What really is insane is that all that money is made off of college athletes, who don’t get a penny from that total number. The debate on whether or not college athletes should be paid has been around for decades and probably will still be here for years to come. Paying college athletes would make the teams unfair, change how hard players will work to get better, affect the amateurism of college sports, and lastly influence the athlete's willingness to participate in college sports.

The debate on whether college athletes should be paid to play is a sensitive controversy, with strong support on both sides. College athletics have been around for a long time and always been worth a good amount of money. This billion dollar industry continues to grow in popularity and net worth, while they continue to see more and more money come in. The student-athletes who they are making the money off of see absolutely none of this income. It is time that the student-athletes start to see some of this income he or she may by helping bring the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are many people who do not think this is in the best interest of the student-athletes or Universities, but that being said there are also many

But why should a student athlete be paid in the first place? Their just athletes right? They go to school just like everyone else? What makes them so special? What makes a college athlete different than the average student is the amount of revenue that they help bring to their selected colleges. This type of revenue is made up from ticket sales, merchandise, media rights and contributions. “USA today” reported that the University of Texas generated $167.7 million dollars from their athletic programs, and that’s just one school. With this in mind, imagine just how much money other colleges are making from their athletics. Sure one can make the argument that they should not be paid because they are not professionals, but one can’t ignore the fact that they are bringing in millions of dollars and seeing none of it.

Even with all this said don’t you think the athletes grades would drop? Think about it, if we pay athletes they won’t care as much about school, making their respected sport their main focus. This can be a bad situation because athletes would think “why go to class when I am still getting paid regardless?” I know this would sound very appealing to many athletes, collecting checks and practicing without the worry about homework and class, but is this benefitting them in the long run? Many athletes go to college to have a chance in the professional league to make millions, so by paying them now in college it would just be giving them a head start.

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.

The debate about college athletes getting paid has divided people into different opinions on this topic. College athletics has become extremely popular and has turned into a job for many students. Playing a sport in college can make the players more likely to go to the pros. However it could also be a bad thing because the player could be likely to be injured while playing in the sport and ruining their whole career. The articles “College Athletes getting paid?” by Tiffany Patterson (2017), “Should college athletes be paid”by ??? (2017), “A way to start paying college athletes” by Joe Nocera (2016), Hearing held on bid to form first college athlete union. By associated press (2014) discusses the debate about college athletes getting paid it centers around scholarships, money made off of college sports and playing the sport is like having a job.

Imagine college athletes getting paid to play a sport, but technically they are not considered a “professional” athlete. It would be a terrible idea to pay college athletes to do what they are going to school for. Most college athletes get some or all of their college paid for, but they want to get paid in money too? It’s not right. They could spend the money unwisely and they could lose focus on what college is meant for and that is to learn to be able to obtain a job. I understand that college athletes have a risk of getting injured and they should get compensated for that risk. Nobody wants a student to get hurt on the field or court and lose their ability to compete and lose their scholarship, but they shouldn’t get paid to play for

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

When the topic is brought up about why college athletes should be paid to play, more then half of people instantly will disagree and say “no way, what for”? But have they really looked into all the reasons pointing towards paying them? I know it sounds like I'm trying to say give them all million dollar contracts and call it a done deal, but that is not the case. Aside from the athletic and academic scholarships to pay for tuition, the money they would be receiving would be miniscule to what they could be making if they were working at a full-time job instead. This money would basically cover small costs an athlete must make when living on his own, since there is no time for a job, he has to balance the careful act of school and sports. Only a select few big time athletes will actually make it all the way to the big leagues and receive a big payout. Once this money distribution to the players is in affect, it will clean up a lot of problems in college sports.

Because of this, they say it would provide an unfair advantage to the other students if these athletes get both a free education as well as get paid at the same time to play a sport (Yankah). Others say that they are just kids and do not need that kind of financial pressure at such a young age. Furthermore, athletes should not be paid because there just is not enough money in the school, and there would be an uneven pay between sports based on general revenue (time). People even say that if the NCAA were to pay athletes, it would take away from the importance of an education and these players would not take their education seriously(lemmons). All these reasons and much more support why college athletes should NOT be paid.

Paying college athletes would make the students more like employees and it will blind people to what the main purpose of college is, to receive a quality education that will help one make their way in the real world. Athletes seem to think they have some sort of entitlement over others and paying them will just give them more reason to think so. Paying college athletes is money that should be directed somewhere else to be more productive. It just would not make sense to pay college athletes. It does not matter the division they play in, whether they are good or not, whether they are a man or woman, or even if they winning championships, the moneys should go to the school and no to the players.

Throughout the years, the United States has been struggling on whether or not college athlete students should be paid. According to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association), association that regulates college sports, it is against the law to pay athlete students. Even though they are a lot of lawsuits and complains the law remains the same. Student athletes should not be paid because: it would not be profitable for the universities, athletes should go to college for an educational purpose rather than for a business purpose, and paying them would change the essentials of college sports.

College athletes should not be paid as employees because they have been given all of their daily needs and free education. These students can complain all they want, but they are not employees and do not deserve payment. Paying athletes will hurt our colleges and universities, paying athletes will hurt our

Paying college athletes would not be fair to regular students and it can distract them from learning. A student athlete is someone who is able to get their education because of their skill in a particular sport. Paying college athletes would entice people to come to college to get paid and not to learn. Student athletes should view their talents in sports as a way to achieve a better education

Another argument in the case for college athletes to be paid would be that the scholarships that are offered to athletes aren’t enough to cover the lost wages they would gain from working a job. Even though some athletes are offered full ride scholarships to great universities, they aren’t enough to pay their rent and other bills that they have. With athletes committing so much time for sports they do not have the time to get a job and pay for their bills and other things they need. This puts more strain on the athletes and can cause them to drop out of their respective sports and when that happens they ultimately lose their scholarships. College athletics are more demanding than a full-time job should pay their athletes for their services provided to the university they play for. The wages lost by athletes at universities are even greater than those working typical eight-hour days. Since athletes, football in particular, commit an immense amount of time to their sports they could be obtaining a wage far greater than the amount of the scholarship they obtained for attending and participating in sports at a university. Another point to be made would be that only a small portion of the people associated with college athletics receive full scholarships. This means that not only are athletes committing so much time and effort for sports, they must pay out of pocket for the portion that their respective