Preview

should college athletes be paid

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3350 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
should college athletes be paid
Should College Athletes be Paid?

Maybe it was the annual spectacle of March Madness and the fact that UCONN came out of nowhere as an underdog to win their 3rd national NCAA men’s basketball title. Maybe it was the excitement of watching the UCONN football team playing in its first ever BCS Bowl against Oklahoma last year. Whatever he reason, the media and sports critics always ignite a fresh debate over the merits of paying college athletes for their services to the schools. Over the past few months, PBS, ESPN and HBO each aired major specials and documentaries on the relative injustices or justice – deepening our your view - of the current college Division 1 (D1) system that allows amateur players to generate billions (that is correct, billions) in revenue each year for their respective schools and the NCAA organization, but prohibits them from receiving a dime of it or any compensation that might be offered from other sources deemed private or public. Coaches can sign multimillion-dollar contracts, endorse products, and rake in lucrative speaking fees. Is this fair? Are we being ethical and righteousness treating young and innocent individuals in this matter? Should we as a society allow these individuals to be taken advantaged in this matter? These are just a few questions many people ask, and the answers are not clear-cut as one might think.
To pay or not to pay? The question everyone asks every year since the explosion of D1 College sports over the past couple of decades. The debate over the pros and cons in paying college athletes won’t end until changes are made or someone does something about the current system. My goal throughout this paper will be to present and clarify some of these arguments and why someone could make changes amendable to everyone involved. I will focus my arguments and debate on three major issues. (1) Should we pay students athletes and how much should they be paid? (2) How would they get paid and the challenges

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    “The college sports industry generates $11 billion in annual revenues. Fifty colleges report annual revenues that exceed $50 million. Meanwhile, five colleges report annual revenues that exceed $100 million,” (Mitchell & Edelman). The money collected by the NCAA, goes towards the sports and the programs, not the players themselves, however, the NCAA says that “Student-athletes are at the heart of the NCAA’s mission,” (NCAA). “Some athletes and their supporters believe that college athletes deserve some type of financial payment for their services and contributions to their institutions, an opinion that has lead to player-initiated lawsuits, court cases, and strikes,” (Garcia).…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Today, sports are no longer fun and games, sports are a business, and college sports are no different. Division I college sports provide a huge source of universities’ income. The school receives money from ticket sales, television contracts, and sport-related merchandise, along with many other sports related revenue builders. The athletes on the other hand, receive their scholarship and little more. While the idea of receiving a free college education is something few would complain about; when the issue is more closely examined it becomes evident that it is not enough. Universities are exploiting athletes, and recently the problems that this creates have become more prominent. More and more athletes are now leaving school early to enter the professional leagues in order to make money. There have also been more reports of violations surrounding university boosters and alumni paying players. Furthermore, athletes have been accused of making deals with gamblers and altering the outcome of games. All of these problems could be minimized, if not completely eliminated, by adopting a program for compensating student athletes. College athletes are exploited by their schools, which make millions of dollars off of them. This leads to violations, students leaving college early, and student-athletes that cannot even afford to do anything that their sport doesn’t sponsor. The NCAA and professional leagues can work together to institute a plan to compensate these athletes and remedy all these problems.…

    • 3415 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    With March Madness dominating the headlines and airwaves, it’s difficult not to admire the passion and effort of these nineteen year old athletes. However, while the marketing of, and revenue from, the tournament continues to grow for the television networks, the NCAA, the participating universities and their coaches, the NCAA athletes participating in it are expressly prohibited from collecting any financial compensation at all whatsoever. There is the argument that NCAA student-athletes should not be paid because of an opportunity provided to pursue a free higher education not given to the general public; but the assertion has several flaws, not the least of which is the extensive time and energy demanded…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    On average, annually D1 Colleges are earning 50 million dollars across all sports in the schools. All of the D1 schools are making a great deal of money off these stellar athletes and they are receiving very minimal in return. On the other hand, if D1 colleges decide to pay their athletes how could this affect the other programs in the school? This is where the discourse begins on whether we should pay the college athletes, or is a scholarship more than content for the student. As a result of this dispute it can cause humongous outrages from angry parents and fans of certain teams.…

    • 704 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cronk’s article offers his professional perspective on the unjust treatment and regulations by the NCAA and why they must compensate student-athletes for their work and image. Cronk’s article quotes many NCAA guidelines and principles in order to provide the audience with reasons why the NCAA can’t pay student-athletes. The main focus of Cronk’s article…

    • 407 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In 2014, the NCAA had a gross revenue of about one billion dollars, distributing 547.1 million dollars to D1 schools. The money that D1 schools rake in from athletics is about 79% of their total income per year and helps them improve their respective school in academics, extracurricular activities, research, clubs and societies, and a multitude of other areas. Unfortunately, the athletes that bring in all this money receive absolutely no revenue and are essentially treated like slaves so that the school can prosper. Even though many people would argue that athletes should play the sport for the love of the game, their commitment, sacrifice of education, and risk of injury or permanent damage suggest they should get some compensation for their performance.…

    • 684 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    The notion of paying college athletes has been an ongoing and controversial debate for student-athletes, coaches, schools, media and most certainly the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Many would argue that playing major college sports is more like a job versus an extracurricular activity. As with the majority of many student athletes, some attend college with the aspiration of becoming professional players thereby college is seen as a means to end. Although student-athletes already receive compensation via full and partial scholarships to participate at the college level, passionate conversations will continue to be a topic of debate because of the enormous revenue generated by college sports.…

    • 3400 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    We often look at college athletes as miniature stars. The question is, why should student’s athlete get a paycheck for playing amateur level sports? Athletes complain about how they do not get enough for playing a sport. They are forgetting that they are being rewarded with a half or full scholarship. The main goal for these athletes is being academically successful. Not who has the best jump shot or who fumbled a ball, that does not matter. The essence of playing college level has been taken out of place, now replaced with the mindsets of professional athletes. Did they forget? You are not professionals. The love of the game has been through extortion for the love of money. Paying college athletes will lead the students astray from what they attended the institution to accomplish in the first place, that is, to earn a degree, not to gain a compensation.…

    • 748 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The number one reason why college athletes should be paid is because they deserve it. College student athletes are working hard anywhere between 30 to 40 hours a week to be successful and excellent. On average every college athletic season ranks in between ten and 150 million dollars in revenue and zero dollars are rewarded to the athletes. Recently there was about an 11 billion dollar deal made between the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the television station, CBS. The deal revolved around a popular event in men’s college basketball, March Madness. The deal was that from 2011 to 2024, CBS would be the station to air the three weekend long event, and again, zero dollars go to the athletes making the event possible. March Madness doesn’t exist without the athletes and they receive none of the billions of dollars the event makes. Andrew Luck was a starting quarterback for Stanford University and a Heisman Trophy candidate. Fans came to the Stanford football games just to see him play. People purchased the jersey emblazoned with his name and number from the Stanford gift shop and he made absolutely no profit from this. Everything went to Nike and the University itself. Andrew Luck is just one example among the many college student…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    How many times have you heard of college athletes being paid under the table or receiving gifts from the school they play for? How many times have these players actually deserved what they received? Many college athletes struggle to juggle their academic and work schedules. On top of that, college athletes need to dedicate themselves to a busy practice schedule as well. Why shouldn’t they be compensated for their time dedicated to helping their school?…

    • 509 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Under any circumstance, the debate of whether or not college athletes should be paid is…

    • 447 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Players Should Be Paid

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Students who have experienced the college athletics process usually believe that players should be paid. Former Quarterback of the Alabama Crimson Tide, AJ McCarron as well as South Carolina’s former Defensive End, Jadeveon Clowney, believe that players should be given some money. These two players understand the amount of time and effort required to perform at a Division 1 level. However, these ideas are generated without much background knowledge and understanding of the financial requirements it would take to do so. The philosophy adopted by most people opposed to the payment of players is that we are already giving them endless amounts of money for benefits and scholarships. The ability to play in college is a privilege, and should…

    • 391 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Student athletes should be compensated for their work, as they are the sole reason for the Athletic Program’s surplus in revenue. These athletes are working for the schools and are doing a service to the college that seems to go unnoticed. Colleges are using these athletes to boost their respective reputations and bring in revenue while not compensating these athletes for their work. Everywhere else athletes are paid, so why shouldn’t college students too? Some critics may argue that these student-athletes are amateurs, and if paid then are becoming professional athletes. The minor league for baseball could be considered an amateur sport, although they do receive pay according to the team’s revenue.…

    • 872 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The common argument to college athletes being paid is that they are “Student Athletes.” Taylor Branch the writer of The Shame Of College Sports agrees that the NCAA makes “Student…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Playing a college sport is like a full time job, except the lack of financial benefits. College football and men’s basketball generate revenue of more than $6 billion every year, yet no money goes toward paying the people that make the sports possible (Bagaria). College sports would be non-existent without the devoted athletes who work hard and spend countless hours each and every day. Whether practicing, training, or playing in games, these athletes are involved in their sport all seven days of the week. College athletes put in almost the same amount of work as professional players do, but instead of making millions, rather they are receiving no financial benefits (Bagaria). College athletes deserve to be paid because they sacrifice so much for their team and deserve compensation. Secondly, college athletes not only deserve money because of their devotion, they also need it for their everyday life. During their athletic season, they do not receive any sort of payment for their efforts which would aide them financially and in everyday life (Bagaria). Most scholarships cover cost of housing and textbooks, but leave out basics such as food. Logically athletes need food, but their time and energy is spent on a “job” as an athlete…

    • 812 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays