Should Student Athletes Be Paid?

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With March Madness almost amongst us the big question floating around is, “should student athletes be paid?” The huge amount of money being made off college sports has led some to question whether student-athletes can be considered amateurs any longer, and whether they should, instead, be paid for their efforts. I feel that student athletes should not get paid because they are already being paid through scholarships, it wouldn’t be fair to their peers and it would open a can of worms causing more problems.
I feel that student athletes wanting to get paid is a matter of greed. They already have an advantage over their peers with having a full ride. According to the National Collegiate Athletic Association; scholarships granted to student athletes cover tuition, fees, room, board and textbooks. The NCAA and their member colleges and universities together award $2.4 billion in athletic scholarships every year to more than 150,000 student-athletes (NCAA). Student athletes are already basically being paid. Think of it as an unpaid internship, but instead of being paid physical cash they are given scholarships. Those that feel student athletes should get paid would argue that many athletes come from poor backgrounds and do not have extra money to go out with friends or afford new clothes. I say boohoo. Last semester I didn’t have enough money to go see Thor: The Dark World or The Hunger Games: Catching Fire with my friends. You could argue and say that I have the opportunity to get a job, but student athletes don’t. I understand that but if you’re coming from a poor background and is not an athlete you are worrying about more than not having extra money. You are worrying about how you are going to paying for tuition and loans. Many c...

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... too. To make a long story short if they increased the scholarship amounts or paid student athletes they would have to do the same for other sports that doesn’t make as much as basketball and football. In the end the schools would be losing money because they are spending more money than they are making. I noticed that some people said that if student athletes got paid they wouldn’t accept bribes. Truth is some student athletes would still accept briberies. Why? Because people always want more money, isn’t that’s way were discussing this topic to begin with.
So in conclusion I have stated reasons why student athletes should not get paid. Those reasons are because they are already being paid though scholarships, those from poor background still can get the Pell Grant, and because it would open up a can of worms causing the school more than what they bargained for.

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