College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

The controversy surrounding the compensation of college athletes has garnished widespread attention across America. While very few institutional athletic programs are able to achieve a sustainable budget, the NCAA should not allow institutions to provide salaries for student athletes because it will impair the mission of higher education, and destroy the true meaning of college sport.

First and foremost, institutions cannot afford to pay student athletes. The majority of college athletic programs are very expensive, with only 14 programs managing to gross financial benefits, according to data submitted by the NCAA. For example, $22 million is required for the Ohio State University to “balance the budget.” Likewise, the total
In the same way, superior academic and athletic performing students are equally remunerated through earned scholarships. The scholarships provide the coverage of partial or full tuition, room, board, and other expenses. However, funding private benefits directly to college athletes will undermine the core value of education. For example, how will deserving students feel when they find out student athletes are receiving exclusive benefits? More than likely, an imbalance of equality will be prevalent on many college campuses. To avoid inequality amongst students, institutions should not pay salaries to student athletes unless they are willing to pay all students equally. Benjamin Carson, a profound and well-known neurosurgeon, emphasized the importance of education above all else (including sports). “What will maintain our position in this world? The ability to shoot a 25 foot jump shot, or the ability to solve a quadratic equation” (Carson). Institutions are obligated to reinforce the value of education; however, if extra money is placed in the pockets of college athletes, a potential trickle-down effect may alter the young minds of high school athletes. For instance, upon graduating, a high school quarterback attending a poverty-stricken school is offered a lucrative salary in addition to an advanced education from the Ohio State University. Shortly after, he
In 1905, the NCAA was founded as a governing committee to ensure that “amateurism” was the pravailing status of collegiate sports. For over century, college sport has been defined as “someone who competes in sports for personal satisfaction and not for monetary gain” (Peterson's staff). For kids growing up, the chance to participate in college sport should be a dream, not a cheap monetary benefit. Moreover, high school and college athletes have always played for the passion, pride, and love of the game. College sport should not turned into an occupation, but be kept an honorable experience. Consequently, the devastating effects of paying college athletes would commence the ruination of the very fundamentals of college sport. The question now is how can the NCAA better improve benefits for student athletes, while retaining the amateur status of college sport. Rather then paying college athletes undeserving money, a stipend can be provided to athletes strictly for things such as food expenses, traveling expenses for students to travel home for visitation, as well as family members to attend games. If this were the case, both NCAA and student athletes would benefit and be in congruence without disrupting the peace on campus. But, if college athletes were paid with cash in their pockets, the amateurism of collegiate sports would be quickly diminished. Athletes would rather see themselves as