Are athletes making too much money? People watch college football religiously every fall and into the spring. Cheering on their team no matter where they are, or what country they may be in. Yelling at the television, screaming at the top of their lungs when their team gets a touchdown, or a penalty. Then college football winds down and we divert our attention to professional football. Have you ever looked at how much money a professional football player makes? Payton Manning makes $42.4 million a year; Tom Brady makes $27.1 million a year, but why? Why have we as Americans made sports more important than our military fighting to keep our freedom, or our police and firemen saving our lives on a daily basis. This is a question people have been asking for what seems like forever.
Did you know that there is more than a billion dollars brought in every year just by college sporting events alone? The NFL makes about six billion in a year as well. If you keep up with ESPN, there have been a few top stories where they talk about collegiate athletes selling personal items (Jerseys, or autographs) to make money. Examples are Cam Newton, Johnny Manziel, AJ Green, and others. However, some could argue that student athletes should be paid to play while others believe that they should not. Dosh stated; “You cannot pay players without invoking Title IX. Safely assuming that any pay-for-play plan would pay male football and basketball players, you run into huge issues with federal law. More money will have to be devoted to women’s sports and it’s highly likely its men’s sports outside of football and basketball that will suffer. And, again, where is all this money going to come from” (Dosh).
Why would you want to pay collegiate athletes money ...
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...m http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/college-football/news/20130620/ruling-obannon-ncaa-case/
• The NCAA lawsuit. (2011, March 29). Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/money-and-march-madness/ncaa-lawsuit/
• Should college athletes be paid by the NCAA?. (2012, March 16). Retrieved from http://www.greenbeltemploymentlawattorneys.com/2012/03/should-college-athletes-be-paid-by-the-ncaa.shtml
• Staples, A. (2010, Sep 10). Double standard doubly frustrating. Retrieved from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/andy_staples/09/08/green.suspension/index.html
• Dosh, K. (n.d.). Problems with paying college athletes. Retrieved from http://businessofcollegesports.com/2011/05/16/problems-with-paying-college-athletes/
• Money and march madness. (2011, May 30). Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/30/money-and-march-madness_n_842488.html
First lets explore the history behind the paying of college athletes. Over the past 50 years the NCAA has been in control of all Div.1, 2 and 3 athletic programs. The NCAA is an organization that delegates and regulates what things college athletes can and can’t do. These regulations are put in place under the label of ‘protecting amateurism’ in college sports. This allots
Posnanski, Joe. “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 584-590. 2013.
Salvador, Damon. “Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid?” 20 April 2013.Web. 18 May 2014.
“Should NCAA Athletes Be Paid?” US News. U.S. News and World Report, Apr. 2013. Web. 05
Professional sports were beginning to be organized in the 1850s. At this point, their salaries, although they were still higher than the average person’s, were not too outrageous. In the 1880s and 90s, baseball players in particular were making on average about $1,750 annually. Even though this was three times the salary of an industrial worker of the time, they were not happy with this amount of money and felt they should be earning more (Baseball n.d.). In the 1970s, the worlds of professional sports took a drastic turn. According to an article by J.L. Carnagie, “Two words described sports in the 1970s: big business. Owners and athletes in major professional team sports knew there was money to be made in their games, and they went after it.” (Carnagie, n.d.) Athletes, especially, realized how competitive teams were becoming, and they were well aware that talent was in high demand. In the beginning of 1980s, the best athletes were demanding even more money; and the majority of the time, they got what they wanted. By end of the 1980s, many athletes were making over a million dollars (Carnagie, n.d.) These increasing salaries were very ironic because when professional sports began they were intended to be a showcase of players’ talent and athletic ability. Professional sports leagues were also supposed to be similar to the Olympics in that they would be free of politics and influence of society. However, by the 80s, they had become all about the star athletes and how much money they could make. By this point, professional sports had evolved into an industry that was focused on entertainment and money, rather than the sports actually being played (Carnagie, n.d.).
Fans have such a love for college football, completely different from NFL but paying athletes just like professional ones would change that different environment for both players and fans completely. Fans love the idea that they are watching these young men play with passion and love for the game. University alumni like to see these players have the same loyalty to the schools that they had when they attended. It resembles a big family, which is so different than a professional team that is technically playing simply for money for the organizations. Collegiate sports is not a career or profession. It is the students' vehicle to a higher education degree (Mitchell). Like many say, “you play for the name on the front, not the back.” It is a common argument that that professio...
Even the waterboy gets paid! NCAA football is a billion dollar a year empire, in which coaches, executives, school presidents, board members, athletic trainers, athletic directors, equipment managers, Waterboys, towel boys, ball boys, and even team mascots all receive a chunk of the revenue. Everyone gets paid except the athletes, who don’t receive a dime of the money. That’s because it’s against NCAA rules to pay college athletes with anything other than an athletic scholarship; anything else, and it’s deemed as an improper benefit, thus making an athlete ineligible if he/she were to accept. The NCAA defends its rule of “no-pay” by claiming that all its student-athletes are “amateurs” and not employees; therefore, they’re legally not compensated. The argument over whether student-athletes should be paid or not, is particularly unsettling within the sport of football, because NCAA football is the most popular and profitable sport of all college athletics. The NCAA’s discrepancy over whether it should pay its players or not, currently has the association fighting a lawsuit filed by former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon, who’s suing for compensation on behalf of former Division I football and men’s basketball players. The lawsuit challenges the NCAA’s use of student-athletes’ images and likeness for commercial purposes (PBS.org). In recent months the argument has been geared more towards whether current student-athletes should be paid or not, particularly football players, who like former Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel, provide the athleticism and entertainment that makes NCAA football the million dollar empire that it is. So, should college football players be paid?
College athletes should be paid! College athletes are often considered to be some of the luckiest students in the world. Most of them receiving all inclusive scholarships that cover all the costs of their education. They are also in a position to make a reputation for themselves in the sporting world preparing them for the next step. The ongoing debate whether student athletes should be paid has been going on for years. These athletes bring in millions of dollars for their respective schools and receive zero in return. Many will argue that they do receive payment, but in reality it is just not true. Costs associated with getting a college education will be discussed, information pertaining to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and benefits student athletes receive. First, I’ll start with costs associated with college and most of all why student athletes should be paid!
6) Clark, Liz. “Athletes Say They Deserve to Be Paid.” Charlotte Observer. (Charlotte, N.C.). April 3, 1994: pg. 4G. Sports. Eleanor Goldstein. Vol. 4. Boca Raton: SIRS, 1994. Art. 65.
Woods, Al. “College Athletes Should Be Paid.” Sports and Athletes: An Anthology. Ed. Christine Watkins. Greenhaven Press, 2009. 87-94. Print.
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/
Mitchel, Horace and Marc Eldelman. Should College Student- Athletes be Paid? 6 January 2014. 6 April 2014 .
All of us have had some kind of emotion after winning a big game. Nothing can ruin the happiness and excitement you feel; you feel on top of the world. In these moments, nothing matters but the victory, you don’t think of the money when you’re winning. It is a privilege to get the opportunity to play at a college level. After doing some research, I noticed a lot of athlete have a split decision between yes and no. I think paying student-athletes could create more problems for other athletes, students and universities. Student-athletes are already getting paid from their scholarship and other benefits from the university, including food, housing, books, and tuition. The average student-athlete cost over $100,000 a year. On top of that, they’re given extra benefits such as strength and conditioning coaches, clothes, equipment, free tutors, and trainers. At most college universities all of those benefits can cost up to about $200,000 over the four years they’re staying in a college dorm. So, if you really think about it, they don’t need to be paid, but at the same time they do.
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.
When addressing the value of entertainment, there is without a doubt, that we as a society value entertainment highly. But there is no reason that these athletes, who are here to merely entertain us, get paid higher wages than those that save our lives and teach us such as medical doctors and teachers. I find it ridiculous that players make millions of dollars a year, and yet demand more. The entertainment that these athletes provide is solely entertainment; it is not essential to the function or productivity of society. If I were to become a professional football player I would not complain about my salary for many reasons. I am playing the sport that I love and getting paid for it. The minimum wage for football is well over $100,000 a year, as is for many professional sports. These reasons by their lonesome are enough to warrant that the salary professional athletes are paid is suffice.