For the past few years many have argued that student-athletes should be thankful for their educational opportunities in college, including the cost of tuition, books, room and board (which would be around $17,000 here at Penn State). Many also argue that if we are paid for our performances, other college talents should be paid for their contributions to their schools. However, when one looks at the vast difference in the amounts of money that different groups bring in, it makes sense why we are resentful at the millions of dollars being made off of our sweat and tears. For instance my former teammate Larry Johnson put his heart and soul into playing for the past four years. His jerseys were sold for $50 each all year around, and he never saw a dime of that money. This is just one of the many examples of unfair compensation. Each year we are under enormous pressure to perform well in the classroom and in sports and I feel that if we were given a stipend it would help alleviate some of stress we go through.
As college athletes we give up many freedoms. Going to parties, hanging out
Cited: 1. http://www.public.asu.edu/~jvanasu/ucai/weaver/ 2. College Athletes Should Not Get Paid, Jim Winn, http://www.bluedojo.com/papers/collegeAthletes/