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Paying College Athletes Essay

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Your Name
Professor Miller
English 106
11 April 2008
Paying College Athletes

College sports have gained a lot of positive attention over the past couple of years due to the athletes’ passion and desire for the sports. Being nationally televised and making it deep into big tournaments can rack up a lot of wealth that colleges and universities can respectively cash in. Only the schools and sponsors of these profiting tournaments and bowl games collect the profits that athletes bring in and it is not fair. The athletes do not garner any benefits for the timeless hours and dedication they put into their sports. College athletes should be paid because they bring in an extensive amount of money and publicity to colleges and …show more content…

Athletes should be compensated in some way for being exploited for money. One that stands out is the money made from selling merchandise. This merchandise can range from hats, t-shirts, and any other miscellaneous apparel but the most important items sold are the jerseys. Yes they do not have the names on the back of the jerseys to protect the athletes, but it is not like there is more than one player on the same team with the identical jersey. Even if their names aren’t on the back of the jerseys being sold, customers buy the jersey because they know who the player’s number. This is true because so many times people watch these games being “advertised” nationally and they’re faster to recognize the jersey number first rather than the last name. This also brings up the issue that players’ names on the back of their jersey are not sold because the athletes could plead a legitimate case that they should be compensated in some way because of the use of their name. Because of the merchandise being sold and marketed from the schools and other sporting goods retailers, athletes should consume, at the least, a share of the profit being made.
Notable and talented athletes bring in a great deal of exposure to universities because of their success. They should not be paid directly because of this but this exposure draws attention to potential incoming students; both freshmen and transfers. In a way, coaches recruit

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