College Athletes Deserve Compensation Essay

What most people don’t is that not all athletes get the full-ride scholarships that people think of. Most collegiate sports don’t even offer full-ride scholarships; instead they have a set amount of money that they can do whatever to give scholarships. According to a U.S. News article, “The average athletic scholarship is about $10,400. Only four sports offer full rides to all athletes who receive scholarships: football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s volleyball” (O'Shaughnessy). Just to put this into perspective, there are twenty-four total college sports, and only these 4 offer full scholarships. This showcases the rarity of a full-ride in college athletes. Looking into it even more, most of those college athletes come from low income families, “86 percent of college athletes come from below the poverty line” (Hayes 1). A college athlete's schedule is also very hectic. In an article showing the schedule of a football player, it lists, “6am-7am: Wake up,

With college basketball and football originating in the 1800’s, the game has had much time to adapt. Over the years, the sports have become more and more popular, gaining a bigger fan base, which has resulted in substantial profits from the sale of merchandise representing the teams and players. There is one thing that has not changed; all of the athletes are still not being paid. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA, is an organization that regulates most aspects of

The NCAA has been around and evolved since the beginning of college sports. This organization is a non-profitable organization, but ironically makes more than millions of profit per year. Branch states “that money comes from a combination of ticket sales, concession sales, merchandise, licensing fees, and other sources—but the great bulk of it comes from television contract”(pg. 228). Meanwhile, the student-athletes do not receive any of this money. This is the start of an unsubstantial business between universities built around amateurism.

College athletics is a billion dollar industry and has been for a long time. Due to the increasing ratings of college athletics, this figure will continue to rise. It’s simple: bigger, faster, stronger athletes will generate more money. College Universities generate so much revenue during the year that it is only fair to the players that they get a cut. College athletes should get paid based on the university’s revenue, apparel sales, and lack of spending money.

College athletic programs are among the most popular sporting events in America. With this rise in popularity, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its colleges have also seen a rise in revenue in recent years. In 2014, the NCAA made over 900 million dollars in revenue. Some collegiate coaches, such as Kentucky’s John Calipari, have yearly salaries in the millions, not counting incentives and endorsement deals. While, clearly, money is being made, NCAA regulations ban collegiate athletes from being paid. Many question this rule and argue that athletes at the college level earn and deserve pay for play. The debate to pay or not to pay college athletes rages on despite the latest court ruling supporting NCAA policies. Because colleges and universities earn such a profit from sporting events, many fans feel it is only fair to distribute some of the wealth to the players. Supporters of paying student athletes feel that these young men and women should be fairly compensated for the time demanded of the athletes and the stress put on the athletes, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Those in favor of paying college athletes contend that athletic and academic work ethic at both high school and collegiate levels will improve, as well as, fiscal responsibility in these young adults. The NCAA argues that paying athletes would negatively affect their

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.

College athletics assume a large role in the entertainment industry of America. Each week, millions of people tune in to watch their favorite team, buy tickets to go to the games, or spend money on university athletic merchandise to show their pride. The NCAA and universities benefit enormously from college sports. The top 10 total revenues generated by universities were all well over the $100,000,000 mark in 2012 (“College Finances 2012”). The University of Texas tops the list with $163,295,115 total revenue from athletics (“College Finances 2012”). Last football season, Texas A&M University quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy. As the first freshman to ever win the trophy, he propagated over 1.8 million media impressions which translated to $37 million of media exposure (Cook). The University’s licensing revenue jumped 23% this past year due to the success of one player (Cook). The NCAA itself generated $871,600,000 in revenue from the championship games (“College Finances 2012”). All of this revenue is impossible without the student-athletes. The NCAA is strict on making sure that athletes should be treated no different from any other student (Blias). However, the athletes are involved in a heavily commercialized multi-billion dollar industry. As amateurs, athletes remain restricted solely to scholarships as the only form

There have been ongoing arguments over the past decade of whether or not college athletes should be paid to play. Many argue that they do not have time to get real jobs because the requirements for the sport that they participate in are far too demanding. Others cite that these athletes are provided full scholarships to attend the schools at which they are playing the sport. However regardless of the argument, I still feel that college athletes should NOT be paid to play.

More than 460,000 student athletes compete in the NCAA alone, many of which are D1 athletes and participate in one the major sports (NCAA). With college athletics on the rise for popularity, March Madness basketball tournament generates more than $1 billion each year in ad revenue (Green). The last audited number for revenue released by the NCAA reported was a yearly revenue of $871.6 million (NCAA). Many think with all the money floating around these athletes should be paid in some way, others argue otherwise (Debate). There is strong controversy whether college athletes should be compensated other than scholarships.

Your dream has come true; you're at college playing the sport you love, and at what cost? None. You are free to live your college life worry free and have been given the opportunity to continue your sports career. After you have completed your college education you can get a job, with no college loans that you have to pay off. You are also able to start making money right out of graduation. You get to experience this less stressful college life. The lives of athletes that walk-on and athletes not on a scholarship are stressful ones with many different things to worry about. Those athletes have to worry about how to pay for college and the loans they will have to pay back after graduation. They will have to pay for all their meals, books and the cost for dorms. But what got you here? There were many factors, but one that helped you the most was that you were a diverse athlete.

Imagine you are a troubled kid that grew up in a gang-controlled neighborhood. You live day to day not knowing if today is you or your family‘s last day. Now imagine someone telling you that they can give your family money to help them get out of the hood and into a safe place. You have a scholarship to a major university and if you work hard you will become pro and make millions of dollars a year. But you can’t bear to see your family suffer any longer so you take the bit of money and use it to get your family to be safe. Now that same university is filing sanctions against you and the person that gave you the money. They are dropping your scholarship and now no other college in the country will take you.

Both Dave Zirin in "The Shame of the NCAA" and Tim Ajmani in "Compensation for College Athletes" would agree that student athletes are being taken advantage of. In Zirin's piece, he speaks about how this treatment towards these students is a civil rights issue. These students are being overworked on the field, some may consider playing a sport in college is more than a full-time job, and aren't getting form of payment or protection. These corporations and universities are “enriching themselves on the backs of uncompensated young men whose status… deprives them of the right to due process guaranteed by the Constitution"(Zirin 204), the NCAA justifies its purpose with two principals, amateurism and student athletes. Since these athletes are students and playing amateur games, they don’t have to be compensated. The NCAA also justifies the fact that students don’t get paid by giving them free room and board but Ajmani makes a point that paying students would provide more of a motive for them to stay in school and complete their degree. In Ajmani's

The seven most popular sports (in order) in the United States are: NFL, MLB, NCAAF, auto racing, NBA, NHL, and NCAAM (Rovell, 2014). Five of the sports included are professional where the athletes are paid. However, two of them--NCAAF and NCAAM--are amateur sports headed by student-athletes who are not paid. When these college sports are on par with professional organizations that are worth billions of dollars, then the amateurism behind the NCAAF and NCAAM is questioned. In fact, the NCAA generates almost a billion dollars annually. Since the athletes in question are amateur student-athletes, paying them might damage the integrity of the sports. Therefore, there is an ongoing contested debate over whether student athletes are deserving of

According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, 480,000 college students were recruited to continue their education while playing the sports they love (“NCAA Recruiting Facts”). Several Americans question the lack of income for collegiate athletes, including college athletes that find themselves battling for a share of the NCAA’s profits in courtrooms. The last reported revenue of the National Collegiate Athletic Association from 2011-2012 was $871,600,000 (“NCAA Benefits to College Student-Athletes”). Therefore, one would one think that the NCAA can afford to pay its players. However, those who believe it is possible to add student athletes to the universities’ payrolls are incorrect. Per the NCAA, while the amount of revenue

This raises the question of whether or not they are employees. Athletes spend 50 to 60 hours a week doing something that is related to the sport they are a part of. Which is not only a ridiculous amount of time, it is more time than a full time employee would spend at work (Neuhauser 11). “‘There are more demands put on these young men than any employee of the university,’ says Robert McCormick, who was an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board under President Jimmy Carter. ‘These young men are laboring under very strict and arduous conditions, so they really are laborers in terms of the physical demands on them while they're also trying to go to school and being required to go to school.’” (Cooper 12). If these athletes are “working” more than full time employees common sense would say that they should be allowed more than just a scholarship that sometimes doesn’t even cover all the cost and expenses that an athlete