Essay Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

Earning a Salary within Collegiate Athletics

Athletes at the college level should be paid a salary for their athletic performance based on the amount of time college athletes dedicate to sporting activities, the revenue of the NCAA overall and their employed coaches, and the fact that paying the athletes would increase the competitivity level of the players. Giving the athletes a salary besides the cost of tuition to the university or college they attend would greatly aid the students.

College level athletes spend an average of 43.3 hours each week dedicated to sports practices, matches, and games (Listland). This number alone expresses that these students are originally committed to nearly a full work week of activities, disincluding a job, classes, and schoolwork. As of 2014, the average working week for an American is 46.7 hours (McGregor). Balancing

Although some may see this as a substantial ruling base, not paying each athletic participant equally reflects directly on future occupations, both within professional athletics and otherwise. If the players are eventually drafted onto a professional sports team, they will be paid based on performance and playing time. Anywhere from large corporations to small businesses, employees are based on the amount of work they put in and the status level of their occupation. This way of earning money is common in every workplace, so reflecting it onto collegiate athletes would only increase their knowledge of it and push them to play at their highest level. Steve Siebold, professional speaker on athletics and author on mental toughness, stated that giving the athletes a stable salary “would be more motivation and increase that competitive spirit” (Siebold). Doing so would not only assist the players, but increase the amount of viewers of the events, which in turn increases the amount of revenue that the NCAA accumulates per