Today there are over 450,000 college athletes and the National College Athletics Association (NCAA) faces a difficult decision on whether or not college athletes should be paid. Many people believe that they should and many believe they should not. There are several benefits that college’s athletes receive for being a student athlete. Why should they receive even more benefits than their scholarship and numerous perks?
Today, most college athletes receive a scholarship to pay for a portion or sometimes all of one’s college tuition. So, what does a scholarship cover? According to an article written by Tyson Hartnett, “A $25,000 scholarship covers the basics, university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and textbooks.” But most scholarships given to college athletes are not full rides. According to US News, in 2010, the average scholarship given to a college athlete was worth $10,400. Even with this amount, many college athletes are not granted a scholarship and have to pay for college themselves.
Yes, college athletes with scholarship money are still in need of money to have in their pockets: they need personal money for gas, food, clothing, and other things that a college student may need. Paying these athletes may lessen the stress they have dealing with a job during the off-season. Unlike a student going to college with an academic scholarship, a college athlete on an athletic scholarship does not have the time for a job with workouts, classes, practice, and study time that is required. But if you compare a student athlete to just a regular student, the athlete still receives many benefits. Several of the Division I college athletes are always being looked at by their respective professional leagues. There are not re...
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...ig-money-in-college-sports-disappears.(accessed December 10, 2013).
Montopoli, Brian. Kevin Ware Injury Could Put Scholarship at Risk. April 1, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/kevin-ware-injury-could-put-scholarship-at-risk/.(accessed December 7, 2013).
Brynelson, Troy. For All the Money College Sports Teams Bring In, Should Student Athletes Be Paid. October 28, 2013. http://dailyemerald.com/2013/10/28/for-all-the-money-college-sports-teams-bring-in-should-student-athletes-be-paid/.(accessed December 7, 2013).
Rosenfeld, Evan, and Scarlett McCourt. Opposing Views: Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid? September 17, 2013. www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2013/09/opposing-views-should-ncaa-athletes-be-paid-091813. (accessed December 7, 2013).
Jacobson, Robert. Sports in America: Recreation, Business, Education, and Controversy. Wylie, TX: Information Plus, 2006.
Tyson Hartnett of The Huffington Post once said “Even with any type of scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke.” This quote is regarding a tremendous controversy that has been talked about for the past few years. He talks about whether or not college athletes should be paid for their duties. Despite the fact that college athletes are not professionals, they should most certainly be paid to play for their respective schools due to many factors. These factors include health risks and the income they bring in for their colleges as well as to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Should college athletes get paid an additional salary? They are an important assets to universities and colleges, so why should they not? How else would universities justify taking advantage of these young men and women? These are questions that arise when pondering the issue. This has been a large controversy over the years of rather or not college athletes should be paid, more specifically football and basketball players. However, they fail to mention that colleges are only considering paying a select few, the stars of the sports. Every single sport in colleges is making revenue for those campuses, making colleges money hungry. Thus, if they decide to only pay a select few, would that leave out women sports all together? Why pay college athletes more on top of everything they already receive? Most college athletes receive free tuition, medical care, meal plans and room and board, which can acquaint to more than a quarter million dollars for their entire college career (Scoop, 2013). Why ask for more? What is this teaching our youth? They should appreciate their chance to do what they love and value the education they are receiving, because that education is far more valuable than a potential sports salary. Even though colleges and college athletes have a few good points on why they believe they should get paid, over all the issue is larger than that, college athletes already make their share of “money” through free education and much more.
“Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid?” US News. U.S. News and World Report, Apr. 2013. Web. 05
Ever since college students started playing sports, back in 1879 when Harvard played Yale in the first collegiate sports game, the question of whether college athletes should be paid was addressed. From that point on athletes, coaches, and college administrators have brought forward points agreeing or disagreeing with the notion of paying college students. The students argue that they deserve to be paid due to the revenue that they bring for the college and because of the games they play and the championships they win. At first the idea of paying college athletes was out of the question, but now the argument has gone from a simple yes or no to a heated debate. Since college athletes are given a free education, they should not also be paid.
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 people who are in favor of the change.
Some people argue about the poor financial situation some colleges are in and their ability to afford to pay student athletes this additional money. This does not make sense, though because Universities make tons of money off of their tuition and overpriced room and board. Also, the NCAA could be asked to chip in to pay for these additional scholarships considering that the NCAA, a non-profit organization, makes six billion dollars annually (Frederick 2013).
Casment, William and Jay Haug. "PRO & CON; College Athletes Should Division 1 Athletes Be Paid?" The Florida Times Union 2 July 2013. Questia School. Web. 3 Dec. 2013.
One of the strongest arguments against student athletes getting paid is that many people feel they already are getting paid, through their financial aid package. Sports Illustrated author, Seth Davis, states in his article “Hoop Thoughts”, that “student athletes are already being payed by earning a free tuition. Which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000, depending on the school they attend. They are also provided with housing, textbooks, food and academic tutoring. When they travel to road games, they are given per diems for meals. They also get coaching, training, game experience and media exposure in their respective crafts” (Davis, 2011). This is a considerable amount of income. While the majority of regular students are walking out of school with a sizeable amount of debt, most student athletes are debt free. Plus they get to enjoy other benefits that are not made available to the average student. They get to travel with their teams, t...
Most successful college sports teams rake in millions of dollars in revenue. Steve Spurrier, the coach for the Florida Gators signed a six year contract where he would make a little over 2.5 million dollars a year not including certain benefits like a free car for his wife. So with the institutions and coaches getting rich off their player who is to say that the player does not deserve a share of the wealth? Most college athletes get around 200-250 dollars a month for living expenses and spending money, this is very small compared to the student who has time to work. Some people say that athletes get paid by having a scholarship but if you look at the ulterior motive behind scholarships I think people would change their minds. Coaches try to get players who they think have the talent to make them win and to persuade them to come to their school they try to give them scholarships. So the whole idea behind a scholarship is to lure the student to come to your school. Scholarships are just a recruitment tactic. Don’t confuse what I am saying though I don’t think college players should be making millions of dollars but there should be a set salary for all p...
Colleges make a plethora of money off of the sports teams and the players do not see any of that money at all but if they do then their performance would be poor on the field and off the field as well. According to Fred Bowen, “only football and men’s basketball are money-making college sports. Most others, such as field hockey, wrestling and swimming, do not attract big crowds or make big bucks.” (Should college athletes get paid?). Also the sports team that give out the most money for athletes to come and play for them, are football and men’s basketball. “Critics of paying college athletes note that only a small number of them compete in sports or on teams that actually generate revenue. They argue that if players were paid, a handful of exceptional athletes would receive large salaries while most players would receive a pittance, and would probably no longer be offered valuable athletic scholarships” (Paying College Athletes). It is not a surprise to anyone that the main athletes that do want to be paid is football and basketball players. They want to be paid because they bring in all of the money for the school and the...
On a podcast from virginiaforusa.com the speaker Doug Merril said " colleges give most of the major athletes huge sums of money through scholarships some of these scholarships can be worth up top 200,000 dollars."Colleges shouldn’t have to pay athletes if they already get money
College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes would dramatically shift their focus away from where it should be - gaining knowledge and skills for life after college” (Lewis and Williams). This is very understandable because one of the biggest reasons college sports are so popular is because the athletes play for school pride and for bragging rights. They play because they enjoy the game, not because it is their job. Most people that disagree with the idea of paying the athletes fail to realize what really goes on behind the scenes. At most Universities around the country the bulk of the income the school receives is brought in through the athletic programs. In fact the football and basketball teams usually bring in enough money to completely pay for the rest of the athletic programs all together. To get a better understanding of how much has changed in the world of college sports a little history must be learned.
Daugherty, Paul. "College athletes already have advantages and shouldn't be paid." Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated, 20 Jan. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2014. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/paul_daugherty/01/20/no.pay/
Some people say that college athletes get paid by having a scholarship, but if you look at it a different way, scholarships might change your mind. Coaches try to get players who they think have the talent to make them win and to persuade them to come to their school by offering them scholarships. The whole idea behind a scholarship is to lure the athlete into coming to your school. Scholarships are nothing more than a recruitment tactic. They will give you a scholarship as long as you produce for them. It’s all about what you can do for them. Indeed these scholarships pay for tuition, room and board, and books, but these athletes don’t have money for other necessities. The NCAA doesn’t want friends or boosters to offer athletes jobs because they ...
Abstract: Collegiate athletes participating in the two revenue sports (football, men's basketball) sacrifice their time, education, and risk physical harm for their respected programs. The players are controlled by a governing body (NCAA) that dictates when they can show up to work, and when they cannot show up for work. They are restricted from making any substantial financial gains outside of their sports arena. These athletes receive no compensation for their efforts, while others prosper from their abilities. The athletes participating in the two revenue sports of college athletics, football and men's basketball should be compensated for their time, dedication, and work put forth in their respected sports.