Essay Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

Dr. Brené Brown, a writer, researcher, and educator was quoted as saying, “what separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.” By focusing in on today’s society, ethics has taken a backseat to making an extra buck. While Division One Universities are making upward from seven to nine figures in revenue each year off of their athletics department, athletes on athletic scholarships are starting to get intolerant to not receiving any incentives for playing the game they love. These athletes are becoming so disheartened by the system that they are now speaking out to the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) and the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) about how they deserve to receive cash incentives for the performance and time they devote to their athletics for the University. However, why should these athletes be entitled to additional money? They should be grateful for the privileges and opportunities they receive at the University and reap the benefits that are intangible to them. Division One athletes should not be able to receive payment in order to participate in their Universities Athletic programs.

The NCAA believes that college athletes do not have to be paid, as the organization is not obliged to to reimburse their players by law. Text 1 counters the legality of not paying college athletes as Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act says that the the NCAA’s role in “restraint of trade and commerce” is

Student athletes are unable to obtain steady income because they are so busy with sporting activities and community service activities and are unable to get a job to support themselves. College athletes cannot pick up a side job that earns over $2,000 per year or accept money from their coach to buy food from any local grocery store. These are issues that make supporters question whether the NCAA is treating college athletes like employees or if they really are student athletes. In a survey organized by the Big 12 Conference, players stated that they feel that juggling athletics and course work during the season is expectedly difficult, but athletes often feel just as overworked in the off-season and the off-season can be more draining than the in-season itself. In a 2010 NCAA survey, more than three-quarters of Division I baseball players reported spending “as much or more time on athletic activities” during the off-season as during the competitive season. About 70 percent of men’s basketball players reported the same, as did 70 percent of football players. It was a similar picture for the remaining men’s sports.(New). Student athletes may not be able to get a job but are still treated like employees.

Collegiate sports have turned into a billion dollar industry and are probably just as popular, if not more popular than professional sports. College athletes put their bodies on the line to play a sport they love, many with hopes and dreams to one day make it to the professional leagues. Athletic facilities are the major money makers for all universities. Colleges bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually, yet athletes do not get paid. Some fans believe athletes should not get paid due to their sports level being “amateurish.”; however, this is far from the truth. There is much more to being a college athlete than just practicing and playing games. These student-athletes must practice, weight lift, go to meetings, travel, go to tutoring and study groups, all the while maintaining sufficient grades. This is very tedious work and is very time consuming. College athletes have a high standard to live up to (Frederick Web; Huma Web; Patterson Web ).

Your dream has come true; you're at college playing the sport you love, and at what cost? None. You are free to live your college life worry free and have been given the opportunity to continue your sports career. After you have completed your college education you can get a job, with no college loans that you have to pay off. You are also able to start making money right out of graduation. You get to experience this less stressful college life. The lives of athletes that walk-on and athletes not on a scholarship are stressful ones with many different things to worry about. Those athletes have to worry about how to pay for college and the loans they will have to pay back after graduation. They will have to pay for all their meals, books and the cost for dorms. But what got you here? There were many factors, but one that helped you the most was that you were a diverse athlete.

“The NCAA is, simply a cartel when it disallows athletes that right. Why should a college student who happens to be a good athlete be denied the same rights as a college student who is a good musician or a good writer or a good actor? The kid who had those talents is, in fact, encouraged to get a paying summer job in his specialty to improve skills. Why should a college basketball player be denied the same rights as a college piano player” (Deford, 673).

College athletes arguably possess a similar and often equivalent skill set to that of a professional athlete and may even train just as hard as a professional athlete. However, a college students relationship to athletics is no different than a high school student who participates in their schools athletics program. These young athletes participate in their chosen sport without any expectation of monetary compensation in return. In fact, many athletes at non-professional levels pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually to participate in their chosen extracurricular sporting activities (Alderman, 2013). This is their choice and they are not financially compensated for it. These athletes play for the joy of the sport, life lessons and in some cases, the hopes of one day becoming a professional athlete.

According to Allen Sack, athletes are already essentially paid to play, by getting to go to college for free, but they also deserve the same rights and benefits as other employees, which could include medical benefits, workers’ compensation when injured, and the right to build financial security for their family while in college, and the denial of these rights is morally unconscionable (Sack). It does not make sense that college athletes are not paid because these athletes are the sole reason for popularity in the college athletic apparel market, which brings in millions of dollars a year, yet college athletes do not see a dime, even though they are the reason for sold jerseys and other apparel. Even worse is the fact that college athletes are prone to getting injured and a rising star with a great future ahead of him or her can have their contract (scholarships) canceled once a school realizes that they will no longer be bringing value or money to their school. Of course, this sounds cruel, but it is the reality for some college athletes, and it is an option that must be extinguished because not only do regular students deserve reassurance and stability, but college athletes do

Americans have become consumed by the world of college athletics. This excitement can be seen all around us. Here at the University of Florida, we experience the energy of division I college sports every day. Whether we choose to participate on football game days, wear Gator athletic apparel, or make conversation every day revolving around topics such as “Tebow’s non-existent NFL career” or “that one basketball player that kept us out of the championship”, the star athletes of our universities become household names across the country. Although it seems to be a life of fame and fortune for these individuals that live the life of a star student athlete, it comes at a cost. Today, college athletes are exploited because of the lack of

As a college student, one must attend classes, complete work specific to their degree requirements and maintain a minimum grade point average as sanctioned by the NCAA to participate in athletics. The NCAA is an “organization dedicated to safeguarding the well-being of student-athletes and equipping them with the skills to succeed on the playing field, in the classroom and throughout life”. The NCAA has put in place a set of rules to assure fair and safe competition at the collegiate level. Arguably one the most debatable topics is the NCAA rule that states “College athletes are not to be paid, not to cash in on their prominence, never to cross any kind of line of professionalism.”

The minimum GPAs and standardized test scores for the student-athletes are supervised by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). These associations also supervise the form and value of the scholarships and the amount of recipients granted by the universities.

The price for college is a huge sacrifice that many families end up taking for their child. For athletes, many receive scholarships or are granted money to attend college, but the sacrifice they have to deal with is much larger than money itself. However, many of these athletes’ superiors argue that it's their choice to sacrifice their bodies, and that they’re just student athletes they don’t deserve to be paid. The people who end up stating these claims are the people who end up making millions off of them and who pay their coaches millions in return. Of course they’re college athletes, but college sports have never fell from the public eye and are just as popular as professional sports, and just as profitable. The problem with college sports

College athletics no longer serve as an extracurricular activity got students, but rather as a product. In addition to this, the commodification of college sports has also led to the exploitation of student-athletes. Since academic ideals have fallen, the exploitation of African-American athletes have reinforced this. They now dominate on college teams, but treating someone different to benefit from their work is shocking. Due to the desperate need for success in athletics, colleges have put their moral compasses aside to recruit African-American athletes who will benefit the team, regardless of the cost.

Growing up as a young boy in a very athletic family, for a very long time it was my dream to one day attend college and play for a university, a sport of my choice, where one day I would make it to the pros and I would play a sport, not only for fun, but as a career. This dream of mine is often shared by many young boys/girls or even young men/women alike, the dream of playing a game for a living. We soon find out that the quickest way to professional sports is through college, where you can get an education, hone your craft with top of the line coaches, and raise interest for yourself as a player. All of these opportunities and more can be awarded to you by simply attending college, at least that is the facade that we are led on to believe. Upon further inspections, you find all the contingencies that are associated with the scholarships. These universities offer you an “education” and in return you make them billions of dollars. Much like professional sports, the NCAA is littered with dirty money, gambling, bribery, and exploitation, just to name a few. Young adults are tricked into signing four years of their life away at the prospect of a professional career in athletics, for the chance to achieve their lifelong dream of playing a professional sport. However, the lack of rights, security, and overall risk of being a college athlete is quite risky when you are at a universities disposal. The NCAA’s oppression has gone far enough when it enforces brutally severe rules on

While such changes have impacted revenues in the affected programs, the shifting focus on college campuses toward intercollegiate sports has also had problems for academics. Students who once went to school only for an education and participated in these kinds of competitions in their free time now often attend these same universities solely for the purpose of participating in sports. In most situations, they end up putting hundreds of hours to sports-related activities and end up becoming athletes first and students second. The end result is a system that uses students to generate millions of dollars for both the NCAA and its universities.