Essay Why College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

Every parent wants their children to get a scholarship to attend college. It is estimated that a four-year college degree can cost over $100,000. Receiving scholarship money sometimes is the only way a student is able to attend college. Scholarships can pay for your academic, housing and athletic needs. A major discussion made today is about paying student-athletes to play for a college. College athletics have become a big time business especially in football and men’s basketball. According to the NCAA, a team participating in this year’s Men’s Basketball Tournament could earn nearly $1.67 million. That is a large amount of money for a school’s athletic budget that is earned through the talent of college athletes. Depending on the success of a college team
“The primary function of academic institutions is to educate, and not to hire student-athletes for their contributions on the basketball court or football field (Meshefejian)”. Students go to college to earn degrees not to earn playing time. The main purpose of a university is to prepare its students for the future job market. Student-athletes receive a greater benefit from an athletic scholarship. “This benefit comes in the form of a college degree,which gives students opportunities in the job market that they would otherwise not have had (Meshefejian).” By receiving a degree, a student-athlete can pursue their career interest. A scholarship is also more than paid tuition, it is also offers money to pay for room, board, meal plans, and textbooks. By paying student-athletes the problem of gender equality could become a reality. “Paying male student-athletes more than female student-athletes could possibly be construed as discrimination (Meshefejian).” Because most of the money generated in college sports comes from football and men's basketball, those male athletes will want to be paid more. This will create a question of gender