According to 2004 research, “College sports has become a 4-billion-a-year enterprise, and the elite football and basketball teams earn multimillion-dollar profits for their universities” (Price Par. 22). Yet the player’s that fuel this business are hardly compensated for their work. “The main beneficiaries of preserving the current system for athletes are coaches, athletic
Of course many athletes receive scholarships, but young financially underprivileged students can't always balance school, athletics, and a job. Because of this, college athletes should be paid for playing for their college to firstly, help them financially accommodate their expensive lifestyles, give them the money they played hard to earn, carry on their academics and finally to allow for stress free recuperation
Should College Athletes Be Paid? “…Three-quarters of a billion dollars built on the backs of amateurs – on unpaid labor” (Branch). In recent years, there has been much controversy over whether or not college athletes should be paid. The argument has primarily consisted of whether or not college athletes deserve special monetary treatment over the other students at universities. “College Football Players Deserve Pay for Play” by Rod Gilmore, “Why Student-Athletes Should Not Be Paid” by Kabir Sawhney, and “The Shame of College Sports” by Taylor Branch all voice their opinions on this argument.
Student Athlete Compensation It is a very controversial topic as to whether student athletes should or should not be paid to participate in college sports. There are multiple reasons that support both sides of this issue and the debate on the subject continues in various circles. Many individuals feel that the economic impact these athletes have on their schools is such that the athletes themselves should receive payment for the revenue they help to create (Henderson). Others feel that although they are generating income, they are compensated for their efforts in other ways (Gosselin). Still others state that only a small percentage of these colleges and universities make a profit from their athletic programs, most actually lose money (Bienen).
For the majority of college athletes their athletic career ends after college, yet we’re giving them money to play that sport. We are putting in these kids heads these hopes and dreams of going on after college and becoming a professional athlete when in reality the likelihood of that is very slim. So why then are we putting so much money into college athletics? If anything we should be giving out more academic scholarships for athletes like at D3 schools where your given money based on your academic success not how well you play a sport. Their potential for success can go on past their college years with academic scholarships so why are we giving out athletic scholarships when the majority of the time you reach your highest potential after 4 years.
Inflation aside, this means college is getting more expensive. Unless your parents are wealthy enough to pay for your tuition or you worked your tail off to receive a full-ride scholarship, more often than not, you have to take out student loans to fund your education. As a result of the high price tag of getting an education, many graduates struggle when faced with the trouble of paying off that huge debt. It’s no longer a right to attend higher education. To many, myself included, attending college is now a luxury.
The big superstars of the teams also get bonus for scoring a touchdown, making a basket, making a goal, and getting on base. The fans want to watch a game in person not on television, but they can’t afford to go to the games because the ticket prices are too expensive, so they have to sit at home watching the game. Owners of team franchises have to pay their athletes so much because of the countless hours of hard work they put in year around. “Many athletes put in over 40 hours a week with practices, study, workouts, and game time” (bleacherreport.com). The countless hours over many years takes toll on their bodies is why they should make as much as they.
A scholarship can be a major financial package, and plenty of your average college students would be more than happy to take the tuition and actually pursue their studies” (Pheifer, 2012). That may be true, but these athletes don’t stay at college long enough to earn a scholarship. In basketball most players (at least the good ones) stick it out for merely a year, while most football players (again, the good ones) leave after four years. You call this compensation? I think not.
There’s no doubt student athletes need to be compensated for their hard work, and for the revenue they bring to their universities; however they are already being compensated. If a Division I college gives an athletic scholarship to a student, that student now has a free ride to a school where non-athletes pay tens of thousands of dollars per year in tuition. Should he also receive a salary in addition to his scholarship? Free, or even reduced, tuition from partial scholarships is compensation enough. Also, there are several perks student athletes already receive: priority scheduling, excused absences and meal plans - just to name a few.
There are college stopouts due to race gender and not enough money to pay for college. Troubles with the economy have caused college stopouts to occur as well. Higher education, or college is getting more expensive by the years, and is becoming more and more of a pain to pay for. According to the article, “students from low-income backgrounds in particular may find they need to take time off from school to save money or to help their families pay their bills” (Terriquez, Gurantz, Gomez, 2013). With this being said with these students having to focus on their financial issues, it is going to be a struggle for them to afford both their bills and college cost.