According to the survey conducted by the website, Thetransporter.com, many individuals supported the idea of college athletes being paid. This is due to the various reasons, which were cited by different individuals who took part in the data survey. Notably, most college athletes are usually offered tuition scholarships by their relevant colleges, thus most of these colleges see no reason of paying them for their services.
Back to history when the NCAA was founded by President Roosevelt, the organization had an idea of not paying salary or any kind of the stipend to the college athletes. This was due to arguments that the college athletes were amateurs in the athletic field. However, over a century ago, the NCAA holds a different view from their stand in the previous years. This change of heart has been occasioned by the gains and profit that they have accrued, especially from the media due to the efforts made by many college athletes (USA Today 1).
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Despite of some individuals and boards like the NCAA not supporting the idea of college athlete payment, athletes should be paid for the work that they do even if they are on full scholarship or partial scholarships in the various colleges (Byers 69).
According to the article, “Ten Reasons College Students should be paid,” the first and the most important reason is an argument that sports organizations and departments responsible for the sports are multi-billion dollar organizations. It is imperative to note that sports bodies like the NCAA have revenues that competes most of the nation’s public companies. However, it can never be compared to big companies because NCAA is a non-profitable organization. Despite being a multi-billion dollar organization, NCAA’s revenues are not evenly distributed. NCAA spends almost $11 million in the various sports, with football, basketball and baseball being the main beneficiaries (New York Times 11). There is no any problem with the organization spending most of its earnings on revenues, but the money should also be distributed and shared to the foundation and the main actors who are accredited to the generation of the income who are the athletes. Furthermore, most fans, parents and other students pay for various sporting tickets for the sole reason of watching their favorite players and athletes, despite of the NCAA using most of its income to pay huge salaries to executives in the sports (Gregory 1).
The second reason why college athletes ought to be paid is that the payment would help the college athletes leave college with more than just a degree. This is because most athletes usually have a vision of being professional players by being drafted either after or before college. Unfortunately, most student athletes fail to be drafted by the MBA, NFL and the MLB right after college (USA Today 1). While in college, the payment will at least provide them with the money to buy important things that they may count and remember in future, whether they will continue playing the various athletics or if they will drop it.
Thirdly, payment of the student athletes will enable them to learn the art of using money in the appropriate manner when they are still young. Learning how to use money at an early age is of particular importance to the student athletes, whether they will continue making millions in future or they will proceed to acquire additional skills in the various sports that they decide to play.
Fourthly, paying college athletes will make sports more competitive. This is because most teams and clubs usually register and sign competitive players either when they are still in college or after they complete their studies. However, NCAA has previously argued that paying of the athletes would adversely affect the competitiveness of the various sports in the country. Most clubs and teams like the National Football League pay their players based on their worth and their performance. The money paid to professional players goes a long way to motivate them, thus enabling them to work even harder (Clotfelter 266). Thus, when college athletes are paid, they are inspired to be like their role models who are professional players. This strategy will eventually increase competitiveness and improve sports.
Furthermore, almost all college athletes struggle to make ends meet. This is because most of the scholarship given to them usually covers tuition fee, but no other expenses like the dining expenses, especially when they find the school dinning already closed. This way, there is need to enact laws that will ensure that college students are paid (Paul, Gary, & Roger 888). In addition, college athletes incur extra expenses like buying the training and sport suits. Most of the time, they purchase these gears using their own money. To this end, there is need to pay college athletes so that they may do away with the financial challenges in the various aspects of their school and sporting life.
Lastly, college athletes spend most of their time in sports. It is estimated that most college athletes spend an average of 43.3 hours a week engaged in various sports (Frommer 12). There is need to compensate them for spending most of their time in sports. The payment will serve as a motivating factor, thus helping them to focus on sports and academics.
Some other people may give an argument that paying college athletes may ruin their lives since they may misuse the money by engaging in other activities that may end up ruining their lives like abusing drugs. However, this is not the case since most athletes spend most of their time doing sports, thus they do not get the extra time to engage in vices that may run their lives.
Conclusion
College athletes should be paid because it serves as a motivating factor, a sign of appreciation, and encourages the students to zero in on their studies and sports. Various state governments and the federal government should come together and make policies that will enable the enactment of a law that will lead to the payment of the college athletes.
- Byers, Walters. Unsportsmanlike Conduct; Exploring College Athletes. University of Michigan. 1995.
- Clotfelter, Charles, T. Big Time Sports in American Universities. P.266. University of Cambridge Press. 2011.
- Frommer, Fred. Report Makes Case for Paying Players. KweseESPN.com. 12 Sep, 2011. Accessed 25 Apr. 2018 http://kwese.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/6962151/advocacy-group-says-top-college-athletes-worth-six-figures
- Gregory, Sean. This Could be the Last College Football Championship Game With Unpaid Players. Time.com. January 8, 2018. Accessed 25 Apr. 2018 http://time.com/5088736/college-football-championship-2018-pay/
- Paul C. Wailer, Gary R. Roberts, Roger I. Abrams. Sports and the Law, pp 888-889. West Publishing Co. 2011.
