Should College Athletes Should Be Paid?

An adult goes to work in the morning, usually receiving motivation to make it through the day from the thought of being paid at the end of the month. College athletes, however, go to practice every day, knowing they will not receive any pay for their work. Everyone expects them to play for the fun of the game, but in this capitalistic world today, is that really enough? Even though college athletes are considered amateur student athletes, they already earn scholarships, and colleges might have a few problems with money, colleges should pay athletes because the athletes earn the colleges billions of dollars, others profit off them, and students need the money to survive. College sports, specifically men’s football and basketball, make billions
These scholarships provide free tuition, room and board, textbooks, food, academic tutoring, transportation, and medical care (“Should College Athletes” 22+). These scholarships can be worth more than two hundred thousand dollars over the course of four years (Davis). However, some athletes are only on partial scholarships or are walk-ons still paying full tuition to attend the school (Gregory). Even those athletes who are on a full scholarship are often short a few thousand dollars for extra expenses, such as shampoo, soap, gas, and more, on top of their tuition and other amenities (Davis). Studies estimate that on average scholarships are about $3,500 short of the “full cost of attending college” annually
The first is that an employee performs work for another person or entity. In the world of college athletics, this boss to employee relationship correlates with the relationship of a coach to his or her players. The second element of being an employee is the presence of a contract. The contract, in this case, would be the National Letter of Intent that each recruit must sign before he or she can receive a scholarship to play in college. The third element states that an employee is under a person or entities control. College athletes are under the control of their coach, school, and the NCAA (Simpson). Coaches have the ability to cut, or “fire,” players from the team at any time as though they were professionals (“Should College Athletes” 22+). Schools also have the power to revoke scholarships. In addition, the NCAA has a detailed code of conduct for athletes which they must follow. The fourth and final element of being an employee is that one earns a form of compensation. College athletes fit into this element because they do receive compensation in the form of a scholarship (Simpson). Employees usually earn enough payment to be able to live and at least afford their basic needs, though. College athletes do not receive payment sufficient for them to afford buying basics such as shampoo or clothing, pay for trips home, or even to go out once in while with