I believe that college sports should be considered a profession. Athletes deserve to be paid for their work. College athletics are a critical part of America’s culture and economy. At the present time, student-athletes are considered amateurs. College is a stepping-stone to the professional leagues. The NCAA is exploiting the student- athlete. Big-time schools are running a national entertainment business that controls the compensation rate of the players like a monopoly (Byers 1).
College athletics are becoming more and more like the professional leagues except for one big issue, money. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) makes billions every year off these student athletes. March Madness is one of the biggest money makers for the NCAA, in 2010 the NCAA signed a 14 year deal worth almost $11 billion with CBS and Turner Sports that would give them the rights to shows the games (USA Today, 2010). Football and basketball bring in the most money at universities, so why not pay the athletes? Especially when the universities, NCAA, and coaches are all getting paid. With all the revenue that football and basketball bring to a university, I believe that football and basketball players should get a share in that.
Waking up before the sunrise is a daily routine. Early morning film sessions, class, then practice, which dominates the day. There are few moments in between for food and socializing, but the life of a student athlete is anything but ordinary. Sleep, eat, practice and school are all an athlete knows, and with the pressures of campus life it becomes even more difficult. No time for much of anything, let alone getting a job. Like most students, these athletes need money, but do not have a spare moment to work. Without any source of income, athletes are put at a major disadvantage. Their full-time job is athletics, in addition to rigorous college-level courses. The possibility of becoming a professional athlete and making millions becomes very appealing. This course of action leads to student athletes making money illegally, dropping out of school, or leaving school early without a degree in an often futile attempt to play at the professional level.
Tyson Hartnett of The Huffington Post once said “Even with any type of scholarship, college athletes are typically dead broke.” This quote regards 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 college athletes are not professionals, they should most certainly be paid for playing for their respective schools due to many factors. These factors include health risks and the income bring in for their colleges as well as to the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
College athletes receive scholarships based on the fact that they can play. What happens when they get injured and they are ultimately dropped from the team? They are left unable to pay for college, with hospital bills and the dream of becoming a professional athlete is flushed down the drain. Some might argue that they can get an academic scholarship, after all school should have been their priority. That sounds great, but in actuality a lot of them have been pushed through school and will not qualify. They spend so much time practicing that they do not have much time or energy to put into schoolwork. Then there are the off campus/out-of-state games that they attend. Those do not just take place on the weekends; they are during classes too, and they will almost always be considered an official excused absence. These coaches and other people in charge of athletes do not have the student’s best interest at heart. All they care about is that they can get out there and win. In my first year of college, I found out that a couple...
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/
An average day for a college athlete consists of morning practice, morning weights, school, study hall and practice. That is quite a schedule; professional athletes do not even have such a dense schedule. Morning weights for athlete are a usual thing but it is still tough, exhausting and grueling. After weights they now become a full time student, they go to school almost every day. In Howard’s article he states “Unlike professional athletes college student-athletes deal with the pressure to excel academically to remain eligible and work towards receiving their college degree” (Howard 1). That is a lot of stress on one young man’s shoulders juggling sports and school at the college level; it is not high school where a teacher holds your hand. Once these athletes are done with school they have study hall where they get help fro...
It’s time for the NCAA and all the college’s presidents to stop being so greedy and start putting cash in the pockets of their product. In conclusion, Division I schools and the NCAA need to start paying athletes monetary rewards for the thousands of dollars they generate.
Playing a sport in college is equivalent to working a full-time job. There are rules that allow major-college football coaches to only demand 20 hours of the players time each week. Studies show that those athletes are doubling those hours per week during the season. Other sports say they are putting in the equivalent of a full time work week. Some NCAA officials are concerned with the amount of time spent and that beyond 40 hours is inhumane. Most of the athletes compete and do whatever it takes to succeed, so they enjoy spending so much time on sports. Many athletes even have struggles in the classroom because they do not have enough time to study. Student-athletes at top Division I schools think of themselves as athletes more than students. Less than one percent of college athletes actually make it professionally. That means these kids should focus more on their education than on athletics. In reality, these officials tolerate the time spent on sports because it keeps a lot of studen...
Posnanski, Joe. “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 584-590. 2013.
There are over 400,000 college athletes who can look forward to a life of poverty and injury after college.College athletes often have problems later on in life. They also go into poverty.The schools also get all the money.College athletes should be paid for putting there body on the line while representing their school.
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!
The average division 1 football player devotes 43.3 hours per week to their sport giving them 3.3 hours more than a typical American work week. With those statistics, I think it’s safe to say that being a collegiate athlete requires more than a full time job. Trying to keep up with homework and attendance in class poses many challenges especially when the NCAA requires students to miss class for championship games, televised games, or other events that bring in revenue for the school. ...
Luzer, Daniel. "College Guide: The Profit in College Sports." The Washington Monthly. N.p., 18 Sept. 2013. Web. 8 Apr. 2014.