By: Thales Andrade 11/14/2019
Universities and colleges throughout the whole country receive millionaire revenue yearly on account of their athletics programs. Most of this revenue returns toward the school, their specific athletic programs, or even the coaches of those programs, but none of it goes to the athletes. Some of the highest money-earning schools such as Alabama, arguably the biggest college football program, earn above the $20 million range. Sticking to Alabama as an example, one could say that these high levels of income come from broadcasting rights deals, ticket sales, sponsorships, among other things. Most recently, the NCAA sold the broadcasting rights of March Madness from 2011 to 2024 to CBS/Turner Sports for $11 billion. All these money-making techniques are a direct cause of the University being able to entertain their fans and watchers with high-performing star athletes. Fans attend events, sponsors companies propose contracts, and television companies buy broadcasting rights due to the top-notch entertainment provided by the ones on the playing environment.
All athletes who play at a collegiate level have the dream of one day reaching the professional level and get paid. Around 2% of athletes who play a college sport end up playing in a professional team. In numerous cases, athletes with talent that belongs to the big-leagues have their careers ended by an injury representing paylessly their university. Their dreams of supporting themselves while doing something they love are ruined, and they likely have a small amount of money to support themselves. If they were to have been paid while playing, they could have something to help support themselves without their scholarship, which was likely taken away due to them not being able to play. Not only does paying players create financial security, it develops a sense of financial awareness that many were never thought. The lack of this is shown by professional athletes who go bankrupt a few years after being retired, and could be avoided by earlier payments to develop the sense of how to spend money properly.
Some may argue that college athletes already do get paid in form of financially assisted education that otherwise they may not be able to afford, but this isn’t always true, as only 59% of Division I athletes play under a scholarship. Others argue that college athletes signing contracts worth money would lead them to disregard the educational part, and commit to schools who offer the highest amount of money. While this may be true it is widely known, but almost never proven, that the top athletes receive financial benefits from picking some school over others.
Work Cited
Recruiting Facts. NCAA, Mar. 2018, www.ncaa.org/sites/default/files/Recruiting%20Fact%20Sheet%20WEB.pdf.Patterson, Tiffany. “Should College Athletes Be Paid?” SmartAsset, SmartAsset, 20 Sept. 2018, smartasset.com/retirement/should-student-athletes-be-paid.
Carden, Art. “College Athletes Are Worth Millions. They Should Be Paid Like It.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 26 July 2018, www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2018/07/26/ college-athletes-are-worth-millions-they-should-be-paid-like-it/#2e8c45da452e.
Martinez, Madisen. “Should College Student-Athletes Be Paid? Both Sides of the Debate.” CollegeXpress, www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/athletics/blog/should -college-student-athletes-be-paid-both-sides-debate/.
I believe that paying college athletes is not something that should be done because over half of these athletes in division one sports play on scholarship which helps with paying for college. If these student athletes were to be paid they would, as stated, most likely look to play for a school that would pay them more money to play there, so college sports would become a matter of who pays their players the most money. It also becomes unfair to the other students who aren’t participating in college sports and already don’t have scholarship money, and now student athletes are getting paid even more money to come play sports at a school while everyone else is left to pay for it themselves and thousands of dollars in debt by the time they leave college.
ReplyDeleteThe point of college is an education, not sports. I would argue that if they aren't demonstrating the ability to get good grades they shouldn't even get their scholarships, let alone paid. Yes, College athletes make schools a rather large sum of money between advertisements, ticket and merchandise sales, and even positive media to attract prospective students but instead of going towards paying those students, it should be treated like it is, money belonging to the school. If this were to be used to help subsidize the education of other students, it would be much more beneficial to the economy than if it were just going to these students. Now, some might argue that that's not fair, that they should be given the money that they're making but I would argue that they already are. Between the actual value of student loans and the interest they accumulate, a full ride for sports is actually a substantial saving to the students. If this excess were to be given to less financially secure students, this would cause their spending power to increase sooner after college and enable them to spend more money on goods that would help businesses and keep money in circulation
ReplyDeleteI can see there are clearly two sides to the argument and I am for both. On one hand, one could argue that the school should be receiving this money since it will be going to further their quality of education and subsidize tuition for other students, but we all know that little of that money truly goes to those purposes as studies have shown that most of tuition money alone goes to the administrative boards or paying for luxury installments (like recreational centers i.e pools and suites) at colleges and only a small percentage actually go to the faculty or improving the academic quality. So on the other hand, just as colleges have work studies that allow students to work as they go through college, I think that being a collegiate athlete can be considered under that program since they are bringing in millions in revenue for their college. If it were considered a work study, it would help the significant percentage of college athletes who are studying without a scholarship and could use the financial help. Also, since their future careers are thwarted by injuries they generally receive in college, it should be upon the college to provide them with the money to recover at least since they provide so much money for the college. I think that considering these things, including working for the school as an athlete in the form of a work study is the best option to solve these problems.
ReplyDeleteThe lowest possible NFL salary for a dressed player is $450,000. The University of Alabama’s tuition cost over the course of 4 years is around $103,800. Some supporters of the “Athletes should be paid” club use this fact as the primary basis for their argument. This however, doesn’t translate over to collegiate football. Simply put, they’re still technically amateurs. Their pay is justified by their scholarship, should they have one.
ReplyDeleteI think that college athletes should be paid. Yes some of them get athletic and academic scholarships to help pay for the cause, however college sports is a huge part of our economy. March Madness, College football playoffs, and the College World Series are a few of the most watched sporting events every year, and rake in a ton of revenue, from fans, spectators, and more. They do so much for the rest of the world’s entertainment, and they hardly get recognized financially. How do you think the prices of everything from food, to tickets, to travel would all be impacted if these athletes were going to get paid?
ReplyDeleteCollege athletes should get paid because that can help them pay off their student debt. Many people argue that this is useless because they could be absolutely bad but still be making thousands of dollars and not be playing. It could also be unfair to other students because they aren’t getting paid to go to college but the athletes are. I personally see some good in this because they can pay off their student loans if they have any or they can pay off debt in general. Many people argue that college is getting too expensive to afford but parents are trying to make it become a social norm because they went to college but the fact is they did it when it was thousands of dollars cheaper. To go to college to play a sport is ok but once draft day comes and it’s your last year there and you don’t get drafted then what do you do? You can use the money you get to look for the basic essentials of living until you find a steady income. Every college pays their players differently. Some pays them more than others because they’re known for the sports that they offer so they want the best of the best thus driving up the pay rate of players. Overall they should get paid because if it turns south then they have some money to live off of for a while.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your topic, I believe that some of the athletes that play in the college level should for sure be paid. As you can see with the Championship game with Clemson and Alabama, if quarterback Trevor Lawrence didn’t help out his team making it to the Championship or even quarterback Jalen Hurts they should’ve at least get paid. Most people that play in the college level for sure have a dream to make it to the professional league for not only getting paid over $1 million but also doing something that they enjoy doing.
ReplyDeleteI believe that college athletes deserve to get some form of payment. Often times the school makes money off of the players by selling jerseys of the players. I believe that players should get the profit made off of their jersey sales because although they are division one athletes many of them have very little money. It would better the players because they are the ones who control how well their jerseys sell so they should be the ones to profit off of them.
ReplyDeleteCollege athletes should get paid because they are already paying 200,000 dollars in tuition's throughout their college career so they could have a paycheck that would help them pay that off especially since it is a huge commitment as a college athlete and they can't have a job while playing football do to how much time and effort they put into the sport. So I do believe they should get paid but I think it shouldn't be any more than their cost of tuition throughout their college career.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really intriguing argument, and I have to agree that college athletes should be paid. When college students commit to playing a sport for their school, it is likely that practices, games, and the rigour of the sport come before the athlete’s education. Players should be compensated, especially for their opportunity cost as they’re giving up a good education for a sport that they’re unlikely to pursue after college. Therefore, it will be harder for these athletes to get a better job with good money based off of the education they received in college when their main focus was on their sport.
ReplyDeleteI personally do not think that college athletes should be paid. Though, they bring in their colleges increased revenue, they do not deserve a salary from their school. College athletes are already compensated through scholarships; though these scholarships can be taken away due to injuries (which less than half of athletes sustain), it does not make sense for schools to essentially "double pay" their athletes. Additionally, athletes are compensated by attending schools that their academics would typically not allow them to be admitted. All of this contributes to these athlete's economic rent. Due to all of these reasons, college athletes should not receive a salary from their college.
ReplyDeleteI think there are definitely arguments for both sides of this topic. For one, college tuition continues to increase exponentially, and it seems as if the schools athletes are going to for sports are D1 and the most expensive. In that respect, they should be getting some financial help - but that's what scholarships are for. So, if the athlete does not get a scholarship, then compensation would make sense. However, since most do, there is an incentive to choose the college with the best offer, and this turns college sports into a fully functioning business. This would raise the over price of the college and make it harder for other students to get in. Additionally, college athletes are not yet professional, which means they are still a part of an extracurricular activity, just at a school where they are receiving a higher education. This would be like compensating high schoolers for being on the varsity football team. Also, giving them money could lead to the potential of them being taxed, which is a lot more weight to put on a college student, whether they have a full ride or not. As I mentioned, there are two sides to this argument and both are compelling. However, both are ultimately leading to whether or not the athlete's life will be successful after the sport.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that college athletes getting paid is great, but it is not necessarily ideal or logical. The huge college programs such as football, may be able to finical support paying athletes but it does not always mean that is going to be the case for all programs. Many of the other sports programs throughout the college campus do not receive large amount of income, for a multitude of reasons. Sports being televised over other sports, the overall interest that people have for any given sport. Making the income NOT be surfactant enough to pay the athletes. Would it be ethical for colleges to only pay athletes that are apart of the top programs that the university, and that is the main problem that I feel that people are faced with then choosing if college athletes should be paid or not.
ReplyDelete-Kaustav Saha
ReplyDeleteI believe that student athletes should all have the same income as the all the other athletes on their team and the athletes on the same level at other colleges. This would help avoid the top few richest colleges to attract the all of the top talent. Also it is unfair for students not to be paid when preforming for their college especially when colleges make so much money from collegiate sports.
Lately this has become one of the most controversial topics of this century. At this point I feel that I don't necessarily have a stance on weather or not they should be paid. But I do feel that most colleges bid on the D1 athletes like they're an object. When you said that most athletes go to the college that has the bigger scholarship, I most certainly agree. In the end, if paying college athletes where to become the norm, all athletes should be paid the same amount, otherwise more controversy on this topic would spark again. Because starting players could have the chance to be paid more than the second stringers.
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I personally disagree, and believe college athletes should not be paid. In most cases, like with football and basketball athletes, they are being given full ride scholarships to attend very highly ranked division 1 schools. They are also given more resources, than normal students, to succeed and keep their grades up. Many athletes receive tutors and extra personalized help from teachers, just to make sure they have the grades to continue to play their sports. This help alone to earn a valuable degree, should be more important to the athlete. Earning money is great, but the players are there to get an education, then to play sports.
ReplyDeleteStudents are being offered scholarship money in most cases to play sports at the collegiate level at their schools. Although there may be numerous accounts of people wanting college players to be paid, that just isn't the point of college. The point of college is to get an education, and if you play college sports and don't already get thousands a year off your tuition, then maybe that's a sign that payment isn't necessary for the players at these big named schools.
ReplyDeleteI agree that NCAA athletes should be paid for the same reasons you stated. These athletes bring in so much money for these universities but they do not get any of those profits? People go to the games to see these high flying athletes play a sport they’re very good at, but they aren’t the ones benefiting with cash when they should be.
ReplyDeleteThis argument has been widely debated and I have heard many arguments from both sides however you do bring up some new and unique ones. For example only about half of D1 athletes are getting scholarships. I feel that this is a topic that most people could agree on if the players were all getting paid evenly and if they were making significantly less than their professional counter parts. Just enough money so they can live their life during their free time and enjoy the college experience.
ReplyDeleteI can really see the problem with players wanting to be paid, their payroll as a student must be decreasing when they are always at football trying to secure a draft pick or spot on an NFL Team. Especially with living in dorms or going to college everyday too. not much have the money and income to stay on track with their own lives and it's sad. These players are something special and should be paid.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of athletes being paid has been out there for a while now, but there has never been the talk of other people getting paid. Things such as the drama department which makes money from putting on shows. Or the other clubs which also put the effort in for their certain topics. How come there has never been a discussion about if they should get paid. The only reason the athletes like football players are talked about is the college puts out and almost exploits the individual efforts onto the market for a profit. Without that, there would not be talking. Colleges don't use other things for profit like they do the football and basketball players. Also, by "athletes" that includes track, tennis, volleyball, gymnastics. Is there talk about paying them? By saying "pay the athletes" who are you excluding?
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ReplyDeleteStudent athletes, in my opinion, 100% deserve to be paid. If not all of them, the star players of each team should at least get compensation. These players from schools like the one mentioned in the article, Alabama, bring their schools loads of money through ticket sales, sponsorships, and merchandise. It wouldn't hurt to compensate the players for all they do for the school.
I agree with you that college athletes should get paid. Although they are getting scholarships to go play these sports at colleges that’s only helping them get into the school and not have to pay for that. These athletes are taking time away from their day to play these sports in college, when they could be studying or working on homework, so they should be getting some type of income. Some people may argue that these college athletes are choosing this as their opportunity cost, rather than studying, but they still should get some type of income for the amount of time they put into the college sport that they play because this could overall help them financially.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you that athletes in sports such as football and basketball deserve some sort of an additional cut from all the revenue the college is making. The reason only football and basketball deserve a cut is because it is the most televised and has the highest attendance among other college sports. The NCAA and colleges have been abusing players talents by replacing it, if the NCAA is close to making as much as the pros their is easily enough to give the players some sort of cut.
ReplyDeleteWhile I agreed with your argument concerning the scholarships received by athletes, and that they should have a way to support themselves if they are injured, I agree with very little else. How will an extra four years of being paid suddenly increase financial awareness among athletes? Greater education is required, not just additional years spent making money. Additionally, I agree with Kaustav when he says that setting a standard for athlete income would prevent a smaller emphasis on education. Without colleges competing for players through their wages, athletes would be able to pursue an education at the college of their choice without having to choose based on income.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that athletes should be paid to play at the collegiate level for the institution they are playing for is a school. A school is established for the emphasis of education and although sports bring revenue to the school, that money should be used to serve the entire student body. Athletes play at teh collegiate level for a future career in a professional league. As you mentioned only 2% of college players go. to the pros, however this high risk of job insecurity is a choice. The rest of the population chooses a career based on job security and those who pick a riskier career are not compensated for this choice. I am also skeptical of the scholarships these athletes recieve. Why should a talented football player recieve more money to attend a school than a student with a better gpa, better test scores, and overall more qualified to a recieve an education at this university.
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ReplyDeleteI do not believe that athletes should be paid to play at the collegiate level for the institution they are playing for is a school. A school is established for the emphasis of education and although sports bring revenue to the school, that money should be used to serve the entire student body. Athletes play at teh collegiate level for a future career in a professional league. As you mentioned only 2% of college players go. to the pros, however this high risk of job insecurity is a choice. The rest of the population chooses a career based on job security and those who pick a riskier career are not compensated for this choice. I am also skeptical of the scholarships these athletes recieve. Why should a talented football player recieve more money to attend a school than a student with a better gpa, better test scores, and overall more qualified to a recieve an education at this university.
I believe that athletes should not be paid to play at a collegiate level. You mentioned only 2% of college players play sports professionally, making this a high risk of job insecurity, so players do take the risk of becoming a "hit or miss" when it comes to making it into professional sports. To support my reasoning behind why college athletes should not be paid, like in the pros, different professional sports offer very differentiated contracts to players. On a college level, student athletes would then need to get paid different amounts and to certain sports which would obviously spark controversy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this kind of information with us.
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