Jake Schlicht
The question “Should NCAA athletes be paid?” has been one of the most talked about topic in the collegiate world of sports for over the last 10 years. There are multiple different opinions on the debate between both sides. With it still being illegal to recieve any sort of money from college schools, other than scholarship money, there have been multiple different cases where outside parties try to bring the top recruits for sports like football, and basketball, by paying them money to go to their school.
The first factor that people should look into is, what is the NCAA? The National College Athletes Association, is an organization that promotes a wide range in college sports across the US. There are different divisions within the NCAA, such as D1, D2, and D3. These divisions range from colleges that have different amount of people in them. D1 are the big colleges that bring in the most revenue for college sports. Last year in 2016/2017, the NCAA brought in over 1.4 billion dollars in revenue across all sports. But the athlete that are bringing in the fans, getting watched to play the game on TV is getting none of that money.
There has been a recent FBI scandal within some division 1 basketball schools, including top programs such as: Duke, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, ect. These schools have been caught with tampering with recruits, and giving them illegal benefits to try and pursue them to come and play basketball at their schools. You would think a few 100$ for a dinner would not affect anything when the NCAA is bringing in around 1.4 billion a year, but they certainly believe it does. Take an example of Miles Bridges, a star sophomore playing at the University of Michigan State. His name was brought into the recent FBI allegation saying that there was records of his mother receiving 400$ from the Michigan State Spartans, and with him being a top 10 draft prospect going into next year's NBA draft, he wisely solved the problem by donating 40$ to charity. I don’t know how that solved the issue but it did.
With so much money brought in by these collegiate athletes, you would think that they would be able to receive some sort of the revenue when people come to watch them play, or buy merchandise that represents them. There is even a problem with selling jerseys with the collegiate players names on the back of the jersey, just because of the fact that they cant recieve any of the profit.
There have been many outspoken athletes where they shared their opinion about whether or not NCAA athletes should be paid. One of those being an ex Wisconsin Badgers Basketball player Nigel Hayes, who is currently playing for the Toronto Raptors. Nigel had multiple different occasions where he expressed that the booming business known as the NCAA was keeping all the money for themselves, and not expressing any interest to help the broke collegiate athletes that were bringing in revenue for them. If you think about it, the NCAA basically gives athletes around $80,000 in a 4 year time period in scholarship money, which does not even bring in the factor of if the player goes pro or not. This $80,000 dollars in scholarship money only covers the academic part of the college, and does not bring in any food, or transportation outside of the athletic department. For a broke college athlete who came from a rough neighborhood with no job because they are doing athletics for the majority of the time, how does a $1,400,000,000 dollar industry each year not give the heart and sole of their business no money? That question may never be answered.
Works Cited
Berkowitz, Steve. “NCAA Incurred $1.4 Billion in Expenses in 2016.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 8 Mar. 2017, www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/07/ncaa-incurred-14-billion-in-expenses-in-2016/98856520/.
“College Athletes Should Be Paid by bradmiller1116 - Infogram.” Infogram: Create Infographics, Reports and Maps, infogram.com/college-athletes-should-be-paid-1g6qo2qgzrvkp78.
Fuller, Marcus. “Statement Games: College Basketball Likely Will Launch a New Round of Athlete Protests.” Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 10 Nov. 2016, www.startribune.com/college-basketball-likely-will-launch-a-new-round-of-athlete-protests/400578231/.
“Why the NCAA Made Miles Bridges Pay $40 to Charity.” Land of 10, 27 Feb. 2018, www.landof10.com/michigan-state/michigan-state-basketball-miles-bridges-ncaa-40-dollars-charity.
This is an interesting topic, I personally think that college athletes should be paid for the job they are doing because although, athletics are a choice if that person is truly bringing that much revenue in to one college then they deserve some compensation since they are not only keeping up with their college studies but are also attending every practice, game and team event, which leaves little to no room for them to work and earn a living for themselves. They should also receive a cut from the jerseys they sell with their name and number because although it is the team's jersey that is still their brand and their name that is prompting these consumers to buy their merchandise.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very interesting how the athletes are spending all of their time putting effort into their sports and academics yet all that is getting paid for is the educational portion of college. If college athletes would start to get paid, I think more people would participate in college athletics to try and bring in some income for themselves and their family which would help cover the entire cost of college. However, I also think that certain athletes would abuse this privilege of getting paid in college and not use the money they are receiving wisely.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's smart that college athletes are rewarded for their hard work in scholarship money. This is extremely beneficial to their future because not only are they living their dream playing their sport, but they are also getting extra help to further their education because not all college basketball players will continue their career. I also think that if college athlete were to be paid directly, they would take advantage of the money and wouldn't be playing for joy, but for money instead.
ReplyDeleteThe NCAA is a massive company and has the money and resources to pay their top star athletes and its crazy that they dont. Yes while they do pay for their education, all their time outside of an education is spent on their sport and it leaves no time for them to have any money because they cant have a job and go to school and play a college sport. The time just doesn't work out. I believe the big name D1 college teams should at least pay these star athletes minimum wage so it gives them a chance to save money and have some money if they do not make it professional.
ReplyDeletePersonally I think that if we pay NCAA athletes money we probably wont have enough to go around. Especially if they aren't very popular. Plus I'm sure a bunch of colleges low key pay them anyways. I agree that if you are selling an athletes name on a jeresey he should get a little money for it!
ReplyDeleteI think that with the crazy amounts of money the NCAA makes, they still are not finding ways to help the athletes that spend much of their college lives working to be a top athlete in their sport. These D1 athletes got where they are from putting in so much time, and because of that, they do not have time for jobs. Therefore I think that even with their education getting paid for, these athletes deserve to receive some sort of income, because really, the NCAA is not doing anything to earn the money, the athletes are.
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with the concept of paying college athletes. College athletes are rewarded with their usually large supply of scholarship money offered and given to them once committed to playing at that college. That is super beneficial to them as college is very expensive and they are able to not pay for college or not pay for a lot of it. However, once in college they have practices constantly, games all the time, team bonding, traveling for games and to put on top of that they have school academics and the stress of college on them. They do not have enough time to get a job and the money supplied from the NCAA could be given to some of the athletes for bringing in so much revenue and working hard. College athletes work very hard.
ReplyDeleteI agree that with the profit these athletes generate for the NCAA it is only fair that athletes get paid a portion of the profits. On top of it all I have trouble with the argument that athletes get a scholarship and they're getting paid that way. The reason for this being that some NCAA athletes aren't trying to obtain a degree and are gone after a year or two to pursue the NBA, NFL, etc. So the scholarship is never fully valued as much by them. Overall I just see it as corrupt that the NCAA doesn't pay their main attraction(the athletes) when they"re the only reason they're even making money.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very fair point, but college is still worth money. Some of the top colleges cost a lot of money to attend. Being able to go to a school that costs 50,000-60,000 dollars to attend for one year and to get that for free is enough of a payment to me. Most of the college athletes who are planning to play at the professional level are only playing ONE year where they don't receive money and then going on to receive a contract that could be worth hundreds of thousands to millions. Colleges do a good job of recruiting players and are getting to attend some of the most amazing colleges in the country for free which is a big enough payment for a college athlete. College basketball is a privilege, and there are opportunities for players to go professional without going to college.
DeleteTo me its like the Student Athletes are the supplier. They are the ones with the special talent that creates revenue. Without them there would be nothing. People wouldn't come to watch, people wouldn't watch on tv, people wouldn't bet on them. The NCAA is corrupt and is using these athletes and won't pay them. Without the athletes the NCAA would be nothing, they couldn't make money without them, so they should pay them like it.
ReplyDeleteTo clarify, the colleges do pay the children in the dorm of stipends and something called training table allows all students to eat for free. While these do not cover all expenses of college, they are a good start. While I do believe that athletes should be paid, I do not ever see the NCAA give up its piece of the pie. However, I do believe that students should be able to use their likeness to get paid. I have never understood the gain from keeping kids from profiting from something they are good at. In almost no other industry that I can think of is this the case, and I believe that it should not be the case here.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand the argument that college athletes a receiving a valuable college degree. The problem with the idea of paying athletes through a scholarship is that many of them will never use this scholarship. Many athletes plan on going straight to the pros so they will never get the time to Finish their degree as they will be leaving college early as well as the fact that there will be no real need for a college education when they are making millions professionally. When you take into account the hours of training and practice these athletes put into their sport, it averages out to around $6 an hour when compared to the cost of their degree. People are making millions of dollars off of these college athletes, I think they deserve at least some of it.
ReplyDeleteThe NCAA would not exist without their student athletes. In fact, it would be a $0 industry without them. The fact that they are making this much money off their "employees" without even really paying them is not fair. I do not believe that players should be making millions at the college level. However, with that said, with the money they are making, a lot more should be invested back into helping pay for full tuition plus enough money to live from week to week for the top athletes. These sports take over their lives especially at the D1 level, so they do not have time to make an income at a job. This is their job. Also, if they are selling jerseys with the player's name on it, they should get some revenue. It is not okay for a big corporation to make money off of other people's talents without giving them anything in return.
ReplyDeleteJake: I have found this whole scandal very interesting. While it is finally being brought to national attention ift has been going on for a long time. Like you said these top athletes are getting paid different amounts of money or in different kinds of benefits to attend and play basketball at their university. Not only do the coaches know that this is wrong the players are taking advantage of what coach will give them the most to come to their school. Although the coach is their role model and is not setting a good example by any means. While players arguments may be true about how they have to help out their families which in many cases these players do come from some low income places this is not the right way to get the money they want. They should attend the college that they want to and get to the league as fast as possible if that is what they want to do. Or stay for the 4 years get a education and then play in the league. This is the right way to get the money that they want.
ReplyDeleteI understand the argument that college athletes are faced with but denying them the ability to make a profit off something they are good at is wrong and should be changed. Student athletes are a main part as to how a college makes a profit through sports. Without Athletes participating in sports the NCAA would be nothing and could make no money. Also participating in a sport in college as almost like a job and since people who don't play sports and have a job get paid for it why should it be any different for people who's job is sports. They should get paid.
ReplyDeletePaying college athletes does seem like the right thing to do. They are the ones who spectators take interest in and they truly are the ones who bring in the money, but who is going to pay them? The NCAA did make $1.4 billion last year, but across the 460,000+ NCAA athletes that means they would only make about $3,000 each if the NCAA alone pays them. Then that leaves the NCAA with no money. So I would agree, I believe NCAA athletes should make some amount of profit, but the question is where are they going to get that profit from?
ReplyDeleteThis is a very good article and I am glad you brought it to my attention. I do not think that college athletes should be paid because they knew exactly what they were signing up for and if they wanted to make money they shouldn't have played their sport and got a job. No one forced them to play their sport it was their decision. Also many college athletes go to school on some sort of scholarship so that is basically the college paying them to play so they might not directly be making money to play but they are not having to pay as much or at all to get an education and do what they love.
ReplyDeletePaying collegiate athletes outside of their full ride has always been controversial, and I’m still curious as to why they can’t get a small regular allowance that is overseen by the NCAA. This would not only help to problem of college athletes being broke while attending a university, but also end the other problem of coaches paying their athletes or athletes’ parents. I do understand why the NCAA doesn't want college athletes to be paid though.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, although paying for their college is a huge benefit, I still believe that everything else should be paid for the athletes. I don’t think it is necessarily right for them to make money while they are receiving a free education, but I do think that it is fair to pay for the athlete's food, dorm, and other college expenses. No college athletes should be poor while they are making their college millions of dollars, but they shouldn’t necessarily be paid actual cash when they are getting a free education, which can be invaluable in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIncome from college sports should be used to lower tuition. The universities will probably not due to their greediness. But if schools do this, more people could leave college debt free and if the university played their cards right, this could help their PR. Also, players should have rights to their name and get paid if their jersey sells.
ReplyDeleteThis is an extremely heated and argumentative topic nationwide. Should college athletes really get paid? I believe they shouldn't. They are still in school after all, and should be trying hard in basketball and studying as well. If college players were payed, I believe that the money could be better spent. It could be spent on utilities, stores, or recruitment.
ReplyDeleteI agree, I think college athletes should be paid. They are agreeing to playing for the college but it still takes a lot of time from there were they could be working. Since they cannot have a job then they cannot pay for anything other then college that they would like to.
ReplyDeletethis is a very debatable topic nationwide at the moment and it is only going to get bigger. I agree with Chris that the income from colleges should go towards lowing tuition fees. If college players were paid it woul dhelp the spending become more beneficial.
ReplyDeleteAlthough college athletes put in a lot of time and effort, I do believe that if they are getting money for their education, then that is compensation enough. College athletes chose to take on the responsibility of participating on that level and putting in the work, so having the money for their education, I think is enough reward.
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