College Athletes Get Paid

Finally, they miss countless classes because of having to travel long distances for games. The NCAA is bringing in $11 billion dollars per year from college sports. That $11 billion is more than what the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Hockey League (NHL) make annually (Edelman). Even

College Varsity Athletes Should be Paid In this paper, I argue that college varsity athletes should be paid for playing sports that bring in revenue. In particular, College football and basketball because they bring in the majority of the revenue for the schools. The revenue accomplished by college sports programs continues to increase, due to the growth in interest of the NCAA basketball tournament and the college football playoffs (Berry III, Page 270). Throughout the past few years, one of the main topics debated in college sports is whether or not the athletes should be paid.

All this effort and work they put in, certainly should amount to some sort of reimbursement for these athletes. In addition, the athletes practicing 40 hours a week for their sport goes to show these athletes are basically working a full-time job as for a job to be considered full-time, the amount of hours required per week is 40. Moreover, many student athletes aren’t that wealthy or well off. “A 2011 report entitled ‘The Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport’ confirms that 85 percent of college athletes in scholarship lives below the poverty line.” (Text 1, lines 22-23)

This money is generated through TV contracts, merchandise sales, and ticket sales, all of which are made possible by the hard work of college athletes. It’s only fair that the athletes should receive a portion of this revenue, especially considering the fact that they are putting in the hours of practice and competing in games.

Not only do college athletes have to make sure they are making every practice and competition, they also have to make sure they are excelling in their studies. This leaves little to no leeway time for them. The time crunch makes it hard for college athletes to support themselves financially, and oftentimes it's hard for them to buy the necessities. For example, student athlete Onashi says that “I was super exhausted” from having to juggle school, practice, and competitions(S3P4). If these athletes are taking on such a heavy workload don't you think they should be getting paid to do so.

Colleges such as UCLA, LSU, Duke, and Notre Dame are not cheap schools to attend. As that being said in the article National Collegiate Athletic Association says, “most of those revenues are spent covering operating expenses for the school's athletic programs and paying tuition for their student-athletes. The majority of Division I colleges in the N.C.A.A. operate at a loss. In fact, among the roughly 350 athletic departments in the N.C.A.A.'s Division I, only about 24 schools have generated more revenue than expenses in recent years” (McDavis par. 2).

This downside is that professional athletes’ go broke faster than they are drafted into the leagues. Many professional players such as NBA and NFL players go broke due to career duration, overspending, family issues, and lack of financial knowledge. When trying to become a professional athlete, one must start playing sports as early as possible (Ferguson 34).Playing sports comes with many sacrifices. Athletes must commit time to practice and traveling. Moreover, they must spend money on equipment, clothing, and food (37).

“College athletes don’t have to worry about student loans, paying for textbooks, the cost of on-campus living, and meal plans” (McCauley). These student athletes are still going to college, hence the name college athletes. They are not professionals, and this is not the big leagues. A scholarship can take care of a big portion of the cost to go to college. Even if it doesn’t cover the whole cost, they are still paying a lot less than a regular student going to college.

Meanwhile, the NCAA makes $11 billion from a contract with CBS. The benefits that these players are collecting “have led to a black market for compensating athletes” (Birkenes and

According to Cork Gaines, “there are now 20 schools that make at least $100 million in sports”. This fact is supported by Figure C (Revenue* of college football teams in 2014 (in million U.S.

Taking a look at the average college student, should they be paid for what they are studying? Probably not. Then why should college athletes be paid? They shouldn 't get paid just because of their athletic ability. They shouldn 't be paid because they are students, not professionals.

However, some might say that this could create an imbalance in their lives and athletes could get distracted by their money and isolate themselves from the typical “college campus life.” Kyle Trull says that “Students attend college to get a better education. If money was involved, many of them could lose track of that goal and be consumed with the sport, not developing their education. Student-athletes could make their decision on how much money they are getting and make the wrong decision for their future.” He claims that “it is selfish of the school to pay the athletes because it is only looking out for the players and not the rest of the departments of the school.”

In the 2013-14 seasons, the NBA grossed $4.79 billion in revenues. That’s over 100 times more than an average NBA player makes in his whole career. NCAA men’s basketball tournament accumulated $1.15 billion in ad revenue, $200 million more than the NBA Playoffs that same year. Despite the staggering profit numbers they generated, tournament participants did not receive one cent for their efforts. The NCAA currently resides in a state of pure hypocrisy.

Although college athletes may be on a scholarship that is paying for their education, they also work countless hours on their craft and make millions for their

" This quote proves that the students are bringing in lots of money and the school has plenty to give. College athletes should be paid because they contribute to the school revenues. When it comes to getting fans in the arena it all happens because of the stars coming out of the locker room. Student athletes can be looked at as advertisement because they persuade people to come watch their skills.