College Sports: Paying Division One Athletes Essay

Actions towards paying athletes are being taken and according to the TCU Daily Skiff, “There’s a legislation being passed around in the Big 12 states to provide athletes with an extra stipend in addition to their all-expenses paid education. The idea is that these students are producing truckloads of revenue for the university and should see some of the fruits of their labor.” (Jennings, par. 2) Because athletes aren’t paid for producing such money, supporters feel some of the money made should go towards helping with extra expenses. An average student athlete has to pay for phone bills, transportation, entertainment, laundry, toiletries and other things. While the typical college student has the opportunity to work, athletes don’t. Some students in college receive academic full ride scholarships, which are the same as athletic full rides, but they have time to earn extra money on the side. If these students are receiving a full ride scholarship and have the opportunity to work then an athlete should be paid a compensation for his or her efforts on the playing field.

Whether or not student-athletes should be paid has been a hotly debated topic since the 1900s. College athletes spend just as much time, if not more time, practicing and devoting time and energy to sports as they do academics. For this, many athletes are rewarded with scholarship money. However, many people believe it is not enough. Should we pay student-athletes a slice of the wealth or is a full-ride scholarship enough? (Business Insider). What if the athlete gets injured? Where does the money come out of to support each athlete’s salary? The huge amount of money being generated from college sports has led some people to think that the athletes are entitled to some of that revenue. While, some think that student-athletes should be paid, others disagree for various reasons.

Imagine a business that was bringing in millions of dollars every year in revenue solely off the employees, and the individuals who are working to bring in the money, do not see a cent of it. This is essentially how college athletes feel at their respective universities. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is seeing $11 billion dollars in revenue come through their doors annually, and not one penny goes back to the student athletes who, in reality, create that money. The money is passed down through the executives, directors and coaches, but none is given to the players. With putting in an average to 43 hours per week, which is more than the average work week, student athletes can be compared to

“College athletes are being educated, not exploited”(Ackerman, Scott). Some people believe that college athletes are being exploited because the colleges don't pay their athletes. People think that the players should get paid since the colleges make so much money. However the money that the colleges makes shouldn't play a factor in the athletes getting paid because the athletes receive so many benefits from their college already. College athletes do not deserve to get paid from their colleges that they play for. Most of the athletes have gotten scholarships to play for that college team. The scholarships that the athletes receive include books, tuition, food, gas, fees and other college related needs. So they have no need for a paycheck from their college when all of their needs are paid for. College athletes just don't deserve to get paid because they are not professional athletes yet (CNN News) (Daily local News).

A topic that is very controversial for everyone is, should student-athletes in college be compensated? There numerous evidence that supports in favor and many against the proposition of paying student- athletes who play sports for their university. As a college athlete, students are putting their bodies on the line each game they play. There’s possibility of suffering a traumatic brain injury or being paralyze after physical contact. These athletes are sacrificing their bodies and physical health at an opportunity to play a game which they love, and hopefully play it in the professional level. While that’s taking place, college football and basketball are big business that keep expanding. College sports bring in a large amount of revenues. The result is that many of them fail to graduate. Paying college athletes would not ruin amateur sport because even though most college athletes do get scholarship and should focus on their education it doesn’t help them if most of the time they are not attending classes to be in practice or games. College sports do make a high-income and athletes deserve a portion of the revenue they bring their programs.

College sports are big money makers now a days. For most universities, the athletic department serves as one of the main sources of cash flow. Athletes are used to create millions of dollars for the NCAA and the schools that they participate in, and never receive a penny. If we are talking about profit, if all bonds with the university were removed, an athletic department representing itself could compete with some of the most successful companies. So, why does the most important parts of the machine, the players, do not receive any money for their training and participation? The answer lies in the NCAA which keeps all the money and their practice of keeping all the revenue for future use. College athletes should be paid for their

Most people don’t know that college athletes are already getting paid in different ways than just direct money. "A student athlete at a major conference school on a full scholarship is likely receiving a package of education, room, board, and coaching/training worth between $50,000 and $125,000 per year depending on their sport and whether they attend public or private university"(Dorfman). These athletes get training and coaching for free that professionals pay $2,000-$3,000 per week for. They also receive free schooling if they received scholarships from the school. They can also have free room which means the athletes don’t have to pay for their houses. The average college student pays $20,000 in tuition that these athletes get

Many believe that paying college athletes is wrong because they are amateurs, or students first and athletes second. With tuition continuing to raise the average athletic scholarships aren’t covering the costs anymore. There is a misconception that most college athletes on athletic scholarships are getting everything paid for, in reality that’s actually false. For example, a Division I basketball team is granted thirteen scholarships each year. Of those thirteen scholarships the University is allowed to split them up however they feel. These scholarships are for incoming students from high school and returning student athletes that had their scholarship picked up for another year. According to author Mark Kantrowitz, less than 20,000 students a year receive an entirely free ride to college (O’Shaughnessy, 2011). That number is students total, not student athletes, that is a very small number when you see that there were 453,347 NCAA student athletes in 2012-13 (Brown, 2013).

     Also student athletes are given a monthly stipend to spend while they are on road trips, to pay for their food, laundry, and other things. On average students are given 200-250 dollars a month, that they can choose to do whatever like with. If the students wishes to keep the money and put it into a savings account this does not violate any rules. (Fleck, buzzle.com)

College athletes should not be paid. “ They argue that the main purpose of going to college is to get a education, not to make money” (“Should college”...1). College is not a job, it is a place to learn. Also many college athletes receive scholarships to attend that school. “The value of the scholarships athletes receive during four years of college can be well over $250,000” (Weiss et al.1). Therefore, athletes

Division-One athletes already are getting paid. They already get paid with full ride athletic scholarships. Some that is even in the hundred thousand dollar range. You get the scholarship and its benefits whether you Start every game or rid the bench all four years. A Division-One athletic scholarship covers textbooks for every class, that universities fees, tuition, and finally room and boarding.

On the other side of this heated exchange are the pundits who say that college athletes are amateurs and are already being paid in terms of their scholarship. Mind you that a vast majority of the opposition have never played college athletics themselves so they wouldn’t know what it is like to be in the shoes of an athlete who has a full scholarship, and even though that scholarship covers tuition, books, meals, housing, and other related costs, it does not cover the extra costs that make up a part of the student-athlete’s life such as money to provide food for the athlete’s little sibling back home who would otherwise be fed if the athlete was working instead of playing sports, and money to support a child which some athletes may have. (Sturgill). So to be clear, a scholarship is nice and all but no matter how much of a “full ride” or “all inclusive” it is, it doesn’t cover everything.

There is a great debate going on about whether division one athletes should receive a new form of compensation due to the authenticity they bring to the country.. According to many sources, most people believe that the athletes shouldn’t receive any new money due to the fact that they already are rewarded by scholarships. With colleges providing higher paying scholarships, the NCAA believes they don’t need to make good with the athletes for their work. Although many people suppose that the NCAA/universities already compensate division one athletes through scholarships, majority of the nation believes that they should be paid an exceptional acquisition.

Players who play college sports are sometimes perceived as fortunate and well-off. Many people believe because athletes receive full scholarships, where they don’t have to pay anything for college, they flourish and live a lavish lifestyle. However, in reality, nothing can be further from the truth. College athletes commonly struggle to survive in college because many students are financially dependent. In fact, according to Harnett (2013), most of the student-athletes would have had a difficult time paying for college if it wasn’t for the scholarship. A full athletic scholarship is an opportunity for students to get a free education while also representing a school by playing a sport. However, as previously stated, scholarships do not put

It is an age old debate on whether a college athlete should be paid. It is a high school student 's dream to play sports at the collegiate level. Many people question why the NCAA, coaches, and administrators are allowed to earn large amounts of money while the student athlete’s hard work and efforts are limited to a scholarship. Others feel that is should be considered a privilege that a college athlete can earn a college degree while enjoying what they love, by playing collegiate sports. Student athletes should not receive payment because they are already receiving payment in the form of an expensive athletic scholarship and are also able to receive the new cost of attendance stipend to assist with further financial burdens.