Research Paper On College Athletes

If the college is making money from their athletes’ performance, those athletes just be getting money as well.

Proponents emphasize that college athletics is a billion-dollar industry that generates significant revenue for its institutions and these institutions should share this revenue with their student-athletes. The NCAA generated over $845 billion dollars in 2012 from their college athletes’ performances at the highest level. This can be compared to a for-profit corporation that makes a lot of money but doesn’t have to pay its employees. (Why College Athletes Should Be Paid). According to a September 2011 study, for each NCAA Division I institution, their average football player generates $120,000 and their average men’s basketball play generates $265,000, annually for athletic department.

Big schools can earn millions of dollars from athletics. The University of Alabama earned $143.3 million from athletics(Edleman). That is more than all of the NHL teams and 25 out of the 30 NBA basketball teams(Edelman). So college athletics provide a significant amount of money for schools(Edleman). The NCAA altogether produces over $11 billion per year for all sports (www.usnews.com). "But the athletes themselves don't see any of that money, just the risk of a career ending injury"

Universities can sell sponsorships to various companies for advertising (at a minimum of about $300,000 per year) and have recently begun naming their stadiums after large corporations in exchange for large donations. Most large athletic departments have lucrative deals, worth about $1 million yearly, with shoe companies. Many colleges receive a substantial amount in royalties for college merchandise, which is sold under official license; some schools receive up to $6 million annually from this source. Coaches also stand to make a significant salary (including base salary from school as well as television, radio, and shoe company stipends) with the highest paid football and basketball coaches currently earning $1-$2 million a year (Eitzen 2000). Even among schools who don’t produce these extreme amounts of revenue,

Those alone can make enough money to pay college athletes. For instance college football is a money- maker when December arrives, teams are guaranteed to see an increase in numbers because that is when championships are settled. There are at least twenty bowl games during that month ending with the national title game which is seen by millions around the world. The title game alone can generate an enormous amount of revenue because of all the advertising that the NCAA does prior to the game.

A controversial issue about college sports is whether the athletes should get paid to participate in the sport. On one side of the argument people believe they should not get paid because they are there on a scholarship, achieving an education for free and being given an opportunity many don't get. On the other side many believe they should pay these kids because they struggle day to day to pay for basic necessities because: the university and staff make millions in selling merchandise and ticket sales and players cannot: players can only receive money from their family members: and players cannot make agreements or receive endorsements deals with companies. Big universities make an unbelievable amount of money by selling merchandise

Generating profits from athletics is what drives a universities’ ability to keep their programs thriving. Football and basketball programs are one of the top money making sports in the United States. From the NCAA “college athletics as a whole pulls in about $12 billion annually,” (Gerencer). This revenue comes from ticket and merchandise sales, along with TV and marketing. The average annual revenue from a Division I football program is around $56 million and men’s basketball is around $23 million. These two college sports bring in the majority of the revenue while numerous others bring in the remainder.

The primary sources for these revenues are from ticket sales, sponsors, broadcasting, apparel sales, and donations which all generate that money (Chait 1). Athletes are recruited to colleges because the coaches think they have the talent to help the team succeed in their sport. At Auburn University, Cam Newton received a full ride scholarship. He became the “star” quarterback for the team, which produced a lot of revenue for the football team and the university (Belson 1). The school thought of additional methods to create more profit, so they put Newton’s number on jerseys, sweatshirts, hats, and other wanted apparel. Those sales alone increased the profit margins enormously (Belson 1), and it all went to the team and the university. All the extra money that resulted from promotional efforts generated even more controversy. Questions arose, such as where to spend the additional funds, whether the school needed new athletic facilities, or even whether the star quarterback should receive a portion of the profits, and were debated. Both sides held passionately to their opinions, and the topic generated a strong response from people on both sides of the debate (Belson 2).

The NCAA made roughly 11 billion dollars this year alone. The University of Alabama brought in 143.3 million dollars of that revenue from their college athletes. That is more than all of the 30 NHL teams and 25 out of 30 NBA teams make. Most of the money received due to college athletes doesn't even go to the college. Colleges bring in money for their athletic programs every year totaling between 100 thousand dollars and millions of dollars. These college athletes are symbols for the college they are playing for. They bring in revenue through donations from others, tickets, the media, and advertisement

programs. The University of Texas football team makes the most revenue out of any other

Collegiate athletics is a multibillion dollar business. Competition across basketball, football, and other popular sports generate just as much money as they do excitement and entertainment to sports fans and the casual viewer. The driving force behind this behemoth are the athletes that don the uniform of the competing universities. These athletes, the most of which are black, dedicated time synonymous to working a full time job on top of being student in order to serve this money machine. What is so damning about this system then? The truth is that the student-athletes do not see a penny of the millions they earn for their schools. On top of that, they are stretched beyond reasonable means in order to serve their athletic program. In return, they are compensated with scholarships to attend the college. However, what might seem like a coveted opportunity is not what it seems.

Most student-athletes playing a sport in college are there on an athletic scholarship. The scholarship is granted to them by their respective schools and is worth anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000. According to Edelman, the football program alone at University of Alabama brought in roughly 143.3 million dollars of revenue. In perspective, that’s about 2 million per player. Even though Alabama is an elite program and brings in more than the average football program, the NCAA brought in nearly $845 billion in 2011 per Sonny. Now it is obvious there many ways a university brings in revenue, but it is safe to say that a player is worth more than that $100,000 scholarship. In fact, a substantial share of college sports’ revenues stay in the hands of a select few administrators, athletic directors, and coaches. Now think about what college athletics would be without the world class athletes it has today, or without any athletes at all. If a school didn’t “award” athletes these scholarships, there would be

How is it fair that college athletic programs rake in so much money from their respective sports and don’t have to pay for their labor? College athletics plays a major role in the sports world today and will continue to be as it is growing more and more popular. With this, is the ever-growing issue of athletes in their respective programs being paid as employees. This issue has been clouding college athletics for some time and it is becoming a much larger topic since athletes feel that they should be compensated for their services. Also, there have been several lawsuits filed against universities and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Even though colleges offer full scholarships to athletes,

The NCAA’s greatest fear about paying student athletes is the money itself. They worry it will be spread thin between all the sports departments, but with all the money circulating around the college sports industry, they should not have any concerns. The two most popular college sports, football and men’s basketball, generate over $6 billion in annual revenue combined; more than the amount the National

When it comes to wanting a career in sports, there are multiple professions and paths that lead to your destination. However, of all the options, you better expect to work hard while keeping an open mind if you want to succeed in reaching your goal.