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Analysis: Should Student Athletes Be Paid

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Analysis: Should Student Athletes Be Paid
Becoming an NCAA Division 1 athlete is a dream that most kids have growing up. Having thousands of fans, friends, and peers screaming your name as you step out onto the field, hitting that walk-off homerun, catching that game-winning touchdown, scoring that game-winning goal in overtime, or even, winning the national championship, is the epitome of all college athletes’ dreams. Student-athletes represent the school they play for. They play their absolute best and give 110% every time they are out on the field, so why should they not be compensated for all of the work they put in? They are a student like everyone else, so they obviously get a few hours of homework per night. Add on top of that: waking up at, maybe, 5 AM for mandatory weight …show more content…
According to senior editor of the Journal of the Business Law Society, Krikor Meshefejian states in his article “Pay to Play: Should College Athletes be Paid,” big-name sports programs at Division 1 NCAA accredited schools (i.e. football and basketball) are money-making organizations. In fact, he cites an article in the Harvard Journal on Legislation, stating, “In the past twelve years, the amount of money generated by these two sports has increased nearly 300%, such that they now fund almost all other sports programs.”(Mashefejian) This statistic provided by Mashefejian proves that college athletics, especially football and basketball, are multimillion-dollar money making programs for schools. Of all the money that these sports programs generate, the athletes that are the real money making producers for the schools see none of it. Yes, the school may make upgrades to the facilities that the student-athletes use, but there is no “real” money being put into the students’ …show more content…
On the other hand, contrary to what those people believe, the actual chance that a high school athlete will receive a scholarship is extremely miniscule. “Only about 2% of all high school athletes are selected for a scholarship…there are only six sports where all athletic scholarships are full ride. Those are football, men’s and women’s basketball, and women’s gymnastics, volleyball, and tennis” (He). As he points out, fully funded athletes are in a

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