Should Student Athletes Be Paid Analysis

With the universities pulling in more than twelve billion dollars, the rate of growth for college athletics surpasses companies like McDonalds and Chevron (Finkel, 2013). The athletes claim they are making all the money, but do not see a dime of this revenue. The age-old notion that the collegiate athletes are amateurs and students, binds them into not being paid by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). This pay for play discussion has been talked about since the early 1900s but recently large steps are being made to actually make a change. There are many perspectives on the payment of collegiate student athletes coming from the NCAA, the athletes themselves, and the university officials.

Day in and day out college athletes work endlessly in practice, school and work without any type of reward. Over the past couple of decades universities have attempted to get the NCAA to allow these universities to give student athletes some type of money for their work and dedication. In John Nocera’s NY Times article, “A Way to Start Paying College Athletes,” he uses strong logical reasoning and credible sources to effectively educate his audience. However, he drastically changes his tone when discussing certain ideas, by indirectly calling out those who do not believe in his way of paying college athletes.

Do you want to get paid for playing a sport in college? (http://www.experienceproject.com/question-answer.php) College players should receive some payment for playing for their schools. College athletes put their bodies on the line each game they play, paying college athletes would help to begin creating a sense of financial awareness, (https://smartasset.com/retirement/should-student-athletes-be-paid ) and some athletes don't have enough money to pay for food or stuff they need and with the money they have left over they can buy things.

How have sports changed to the point where there is serious discussion around paying college athletes? Universities and athletic coaches make millions on the backs of their players. So the question is, are our college athletes properly compensated? After reading both articles by Paul Marx and Warren Hartenstine I have come to the conclusion that college athletes should not be compensated beyond their athletic scholarships. Many students are fully compensated for tuition, room and board, books and private tutors. These services are valuable in countless ways. They allow students to pursue both their athletic and academic dreams. Further compensating college athletes would lead to an unfair advantage and is unjust to other students.

Throughout my paper I will demonstrate many different ideas on whether college athletes should get paid why they should not. I will talk about the things paying the athletes will do for the NCAA, how it is unfair for athletes to be used and not get anything out of those moments, and they generate revenue for the NCAA just on certain players presence. I will also talk about why college athletes should not get paid. They

Student athletes put in work day in and day out to be as skilled as they are, and to only get better. Nocera argues, “The coaches for these teams earn millions. Even the assistant coaches make hundreds of thousands,”(22), but the ones who actually do the labor to win do not get paid. These athletes’ talents are being broadcasted all over the television, “ Approximate amount ESPN is paying annually to broadcast college football playoffs is $600 million,” (Forbes 22), and do not get anything in return for their performance being blasted everywhere.

In the article “student athletes should be paid,” she notices with all the money that comes in, none of the athletes receive any payment. Over the years it seems like this issue has occurred numerous times, but it seems like the NCAA industry always throws this situation under the bus. In her article she says, “Examples that come to mind are Stanford, who provided an “easy class” list for athletes, and UNC, subject of 18 years of academic fraud that had athletes taking fake classes to boost their GPA’s” (Deutsch, 2016). She explains that the colleges supported students by giving them a poor education by giving them easy classes. Now we are aware that a big D1 college that are popular in the sports and media industries brings them a lot of money,

“Imagine that you worked a 40-hour per week job where you didn’t get paid, but you had to pay $3,000 a year!” In the article, “The Myth of Amateur Athletics”, this quote is being compared to the amount of training, practicing, and competing most full ride college athletes obtain each week. While maintaining good grades, continuing to give 100% training/during games, college athletes don’t need any added stress. Added stress such as finding a job to pay for the extra $3,000 they have to pay to go to college.

College athletes are undoubtedly some of the hardest working people in the world. Not only are they living the life of an average student, they also have a strenuous schedule with their specific sport. One of the most discussed topics in the world of college athletics is whether or not student-athletes should be paid money for playing sports. The people who disagree with the idea have some good arguments to make. Primarily that the athletes get to go to school for free for playing sports. Another argument is that if student-athletes were to get paid then it would ruin the amateurism of college sports. People who are against paying the athletes do not want to see the young people become focused on money. “Paying student-athletes

College athletic programs are among the most popular sporting events in America. With this rise in popularity, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and its colleges have also seen a rise in revenue in recent years. In 2014, the NCAA made over 900 million dollars in revenue. Some collegiate coaches, such as Kentucky’s John Calipari, have yearly salaries in the millions, not counting incentives and endorsement deals. While, clearly, money is being made, NCAA regulations ban collegiate athletes from being paid. Many question this rule and argue that athletes at the college level earn and deserve pay for play. The debate to pay or not to pay college athletes rages on despite the latest court ruling supporting NCAA policies. Because colleges and universities earn such a profit from sporting events, many fans feel it is only fair to distribute some of the wealth to the players. Supporters of paying student athletes feel that these young men and women should be fairly compensated for the time demanded of the athletes and the stress put on the athletes, physically, mentally, emotionally, and financially. Those in favor of paying college athletes contend that athletic and academic work ethic at both high school and collegiate levels will improve, as well as, fiscal responsibility in these young adults. The NCAA argues that paying athletes would negatively affect their

“SLAVES OF BIG-TIME COLLEGE SPORTS” by D. Stanley Eitzen explains that college athletes are not being treated fairly and we need to change for the athletes best interest. First off, it states that players are exploited economically, making millions for their teams, but provided only with a subsistence wage of room, board, tuition, and books; they are controlled with restricted freedoms; they are subject to physical and mental abuse by coaches. Later in the text, it explains how “These rules reek with injustice. Athletes can make money for others, but not for themselves.” (Eitzen 3) This source will be used to describe and give examples of the opposing views and skewed image of these college athletes lives and privileges.

One argument supporting the payment of college athletes is that colleges bring in millions of dollars every year, yet the athletes see none of the money (Ford). People who support this argument say that these players work tirelessly throughout the season to win championships which then help the college receive money, and then the players receive no payment for their work. Kenneth Cooper, the author of Should College Athletes Be Paid? quoted Robert McCormick, an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board. McCormick argues that “there are more demands put on these young men than any employee of the university. They are laboring under very strict and arduous conditions, so

6). Kenneth j. Cooper states that being a college athlete is a job He explains that being a student athlete is a job which the athletes get paid nothing (par. 1). William Ford explains the many financial reasons for pay for play He explains that college athletes get paid millions and student athletes get nothing for their efforts(par. 11). PRNewswire explains the aspects from colleges They Explain that college programs are billon dollar money makers off student athletes (par. 3). Mark Emmert explains the problems with pay for play He explains that pay for play will influence bribing high school athletes to go to that school (par. 3). Ben Cohen explains the paying student athlete’s scenario He explains the problem with paying college athletes more than their scholarship (par. 7). Bruce Jenkins explained his opposition to pay for play He explains that you go to college to get a degree not to get paid (par. 3).

Zirin goes into depth about how sport writers get pampered with expensive gifts from corporate sponsors and how the NCAA is making money off of uncompensated young athletes. While Ajmani goes into detail about how students are not getting fair treatment, "College students are pawns in a huge chess game" (Ajmani 209); students don't benefit from the games, as they are the ones getting played. Student athletes put themselves at risk just for the love of the game; if they get hurt on the field or court, they don’t have worker's comp for injuries, according to Dave Meggyesy. Both authors believe there is corruption in the NCAA system but focus on different

College athletes are not being paid for their labor, which schools profit from. “The NCAA (National College Athletics Association) earns about $4 billion in licensing fees each year. In 2010, the NCAA signed a 14-year, $10.8 billion contract with CBS and Turner Sports to have exclusive rights to show the men’s college basketball tournament, which takes place every year” (Miller). Student-athletes are being exploited by the NCAA and there’s nothing they can do about it. Exploitation happens when student-athletes, who are making large amounts of money for their schools, often are not receiving any kind of admissible, quality education. Another form a student-athlete is exploited, the value of