Student Athlete Compensation

Professional athletes have always been labeled as inspirational heroes, role models and compensated well for their talents. But now, collegiate athletes feel warranted in requesting compensation; however, this level of play is far from a “professional.” Student athletes must never receive compensation during college play.

Universities cannot afford to pay a salary to an athlete. Athletic programs receive donations from past alumni and / or corporations, part of these donations help with the astronomically high costs of buying or maintenance of all athletic equipment, new renovations of existing buildings, or improving their stadium, such as what Auburn University did in 2015. They installed close to an 11,000-square foot, high definition screen

This provides a free education, which means the student will graduate debt free. Not only will they obtain an education but the scholarship includes, free meals, room and board, and clothing, in addition to medical attention. Scholarships are also provided to the average academic student, thus providing similar amenities as the players. However, on the average an academic scholarship are roughly 10,000 to 17,000 dollars, whereas, an athletic scholarship at Butler University 17,000 to 21,000 a year. Although, those in opposition only see those numbers, it’s not always cut and dry. Take Men’s Basketball at Butler University. In USA Today, an analysis has determined that a typical player for a program receives at least $120,000 annually in goods, services and future earnings for his athletic work (citation). But those in disagreement never take into account real expenditures and costs that are being spent annually on these athletes. This makes the athletic scholarship well worth its weight, therefore immensely compensating as a method of

how could it be determined a player is paid? Not only are sports male dominating, but they come with various talents and skill. At this level, athletes have not reached their full potential. It is only because the schools have provided top notch coaching and teach impeccable training skills in order for these athletes to become stealth athletes. Since basketball and football are the heavy hitters when it comes to donations, oppositionist state; these are the athletes that deserve most payment. Furthermore, this will lead to the ole’ gender debate. Women athletes are not being paid and equal to their male counterparts. Will there be contracts in place to determine the amount of pay and for a period of time? If so, it will be inevitable of contract wars with students holding out for more money or wanting better perks than other athletes. This type of division will be a page out of professional history, just as it was with the NFL, NBA and MLB, they have all gone on strike at least once before, which changed the perception with many fans to; these athletes are spoiled and materialistic. Paying and demanding payment at this stage will only lower fan base or alumni morale, and could hurt donations due to controversy or lawsuits. There isn’t a fair way to pay these athletes, when all of them work hard equally and are part of a team. This would only cause chaos and havoc amongst team members, administration and