Should college athletes be paid; the never ending debate. People all around the country fall on either side of the fence on this particular situation. My opinion. YES, they should be paid, and it isn't even a question. The NCAA, and college sports in general, is a gold mine. It also happens to be the perfect business plan. You get a bunch of employees to work essentially for free, and then make millions upon millions of dollars off of them and their likeness. Student athletes work unbelievably hard to play for their schools teams, that, when accounting for practices, traveling, and games, being a student athlete is equivalent to having a full time job. If that isn't enough, it should also be noted that they are full time students as well, which at the minimum is twelve credit hours per week, putting student athletes at around an average on the low end of the scale, 52 hours of work per week. A common misconception is that athletes are paid, but instead of checks, they are given scholarships. I used to believe this as well, but with a little bit of googling, its easily evident that scholarships aren't nearly worth the compensation deserved. Next, I would like to quickly dive into each of these points. First, we will start with argument that student athletes are essentially working full time jobs, and not being compensated for it.
According to this Sun Times article, it’s argued that being an athlete at a big time football/basketball program spends, on average, 43.3 hours per week(football), and 39 hours per week on basketball. With the sport essentially equivalent to a full time job, they still have to make time for school, which at the minimum is 12 hours per week. This puts the time spent per week by a student athlete at around 50-57 hours per week. They are not paid for any of this, and if they want money they are told to get a job. Really? Where in the world is a human being going to be able to fit enough time for a job into a schedule that consists of 40 hours of sports and 12 hours of school per week. This isn't even counting the time spent studying so that the students can continue to pass classes and participate in the sports, because in most programs it’s understood that with poor grades one will not be able to play or participate in athletic activities. Whenever this argument is brought up, the typical immediate comeback is that student athletes are usually on full ride scholarships, which is enough compensation. The truth is, that it really isn't.
According to a CBS sports article, it was “concluded that a Division I-A football player was worth $121,048 per year. That's a small fortune. But less than half the $265,027 a college basketball player is worth.” Those are astonishing numbers, and that is just the average. Players at the biggest schools are worth much more than that. It was also found that most players on full scholarships are actually living below the poverty line. To summarize, these people need to start being paid. This brings me to my last point, which happens to be the thing I have the biggest problem with. The NCAA.
The NCAA is a billion dollar industry that doesn't have to properly pay its employees. Furthermore, the NCAA goes to great lengths to make sure that these “employees”(student athletes) are not allowed to use their platform as an athlete to gain money. Michael Wilbon, one of my favorite writers, made a great point on this issue. To paraphrase, he states that a music or art student is free to use their talent to make money while still being a student, and nobody cares or asks questions. If an athlete wants to do the same, and use their stature as a notable athlete to make money, they get in trouble or even kicked off the team, and can probably expect some hefty fines. This leads to athletes accepting money from agents, in a lot of cases because they are poor and they need money for their families. Even Charles Barkley admitted to this.
The NCAA has a great business model, but unfortunately the only people being benefited is the NCAA. The athletes are treated as commodities. Great for business when they perform well, and if they don't perform well or get injured, just take away that scholarship and give it to the next guy. Who the hell cares if the kid cant afford school without it and has to drop out of the university. It’s an extremely broken system, and it needs to be reworked. Student athletes can’t continue to be exploited like this.
Should-college-athletes-be-paid?-As-much-as - Chicago Sun-Times. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.suntimes.com/sports/colleges/7635972-419/should-college-athletes-be-paid-as-much-as-1m-says-new-report.html
College athletes really owe schools money? Then they must be paid - NCAA Football - CBSSports.com News, Scores, Stats, Schedule and BCS Rankings. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/21575106/if-college-athletes-really-owe-schools-money-then-they-must-be-paid
Charles Barkley: I Took Money From Agents in College | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/sports/Charles-Barkley-I-Took-Money-From-Agents-in-College-103149774.html
Wilbon, M. (n.d.). College athletes deserve to be paid - ESPN. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6778847/college-athletes-deserve-paid
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