Why Should College Athletes Get Paid

The debate about college athletes getting paid has divided people into different opinions on this topic. College athletics has become extremely popular and has turned into a job for many students. Playing a sport in college can make the players more likely to go to the pros. However it could also be a bad thing because the player could be likely to be injured while playing in the sport and ruining their whole career. The articles “College Athletes getting paid?” by Tiffany Patterson (2017), “Should college athletes be paid”by ??? (2017), “A way to start paying college athletes” by Joe Nocera (2016), Hearing held on bid to form first college athlete union. By associated press (2014) discusses the debate about college athletes getting paid it centers around scholarships, money made off of college sports and playing the sport is like having a job.

The NCAA, both men’s and women’s, basketball tournaments has gained attention of sports fans across the country. Brackets will be busted, nests will be cut down, and champions will be crowned. While these teams are celebrating, they are not the winners of the tournaments, but NCAA itself. The NCAA becomes face to face with billions made off of the talents of the players, while the players don’t see a penny of that profit. I believe all NCAA athletes should be paid “A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”.

The NCAA basketball programs rake in billions every year through the marketing,broadcasting contract, merchandise ,and ticket sale, One big event that every large school looks forward to, the March Madness basketball tournament which by itself generates more than $1 billion each year in the production of advertisements, which is greater than the cost of the ones that are featured in the Super Bowl. If the different coaches can be paid more than millions of dollars each year why can't the athletes be paid as well. Student athletes need money for their personal expenses, keep athletes for selling their own merchandise, and rewards for helping bring in money to help benefit their school.

In the article, online” How much money do college sports generate” they discuss how much money is made off revenue for most events. Author Scott Morgan says” For 2011-12, the NCAA reported $871.6 million in revenue- 81 percent of which came from a broadcast rights in agreement with Turner/Sports”. ( Morgan, Money College Sports Generate). With all this money being made, the athletes are the ones who really bring the fans and the viewers to the network station. For example, if you have two of the biggest division 1 schools playing against each other, that brings in money from people who don’t even attend either of the universities. If you’re a fan of the game and love to watch to see competition, you may pay your money to attend the game. There are also sportswear and other items that they are making profit off

College sports are a highly paid business. It is produced sold just like all other commercial products. The NCAA generated over $70 million in the basketball tournaments. Schools who made it to the finale instantly earned over $1.3 million. $275 thousand was given to those who were invited to the tournament. Football is just the same. The (1988-89) seasons produces $53 million and $66 million and was split between all participating schools.

In a country who prides itself on a capitalist economy based on private ownership, trade, competitive markets, and wealth accumulation there are still many places where it can be seen that this type of economic system is not allowed for everyone. One of those places is at the NCAA who brings in extreme amounts of money through selling the broadcasting rights to athletic events and selling tickets at the championships. An example of this is the TBS deal to broadcast march madness from 2011-2024 which only lasts 3 weeks each year signed for a staggering $10.8 billion (Wilbon 1). With that type of money being made off of just one deal and plenty more to go around the question should then be asked why are college athletes not getting more compensation than just their scholarships with all the money that is being made off of them? This question has brought up intense debates due to college athletics’ being considered amateur sports and because of the complexity it seems it would take to actually be able to pay all athletes fairly. However, living in an economic system based solely on supply and demand and with the clear abundance of funds in the NCAA, college athletes deserve to be paid.

Contrary to what I believe, a counter argument could be made about pay in college athletes, here are some points that people who think opposite of what I do could make. College athletes should not receive pay for their sports because they already get scholarships and they are not employees under law. The students play for their school and that’s why the school gets the money,

Ticket sales, advertising, and merchandise help colleges produce hundreds of millions of dollars through college sports (Nocera and Williams). College-athletes, especially from D1 universities, are there to help the school produce money. A major part of a school’s profit is coming from the athletic department and they are even saving money too. Athletic departments are considered part of the educational system and do not need to pay taxes on sponsors, tv broadcasting, and season tickets (Eitzen). For example, March Madness is a popular event that is televised every year; some teams have even created their own broadcasting systems. Universities and coaches are supplying enough money that the athletes could receive some pay as well.

There are over 100 college sports programs in the nation that are run by the NCAA football and basketball, among other sports. The NCAA makes money through merchandise, sales, and television broadcasts which increases each year. The NCAA makes about $1 billion dollars a month, $12 billion annually (Wilbon). A portion of the money then gets distributed to the schools to pay for the rights of the schools. In addition, the NCAA also has deals with multiple television companies that generates an additional $11.3 billion dollars (“College Athletes Should be Compensated”).

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.

One of the most controversial subjects we as individuals hear about this day in age is whether or not college athletes deserve to be paid. Many people argue that these athletes do intact, deserve to be paid for their time and hard work. NCAA athletes create a name for themselves by playing and performing well on their college teams. The better these athletes perform, the more publicity the school revives. This then leads to higher ticket sales and stores around campus selling jerseys and other clothing items with athletes names and numbers on the back. NCAA schools have become comfortable with using athletes’ names to bring in a revenue for the school, and yet the athletes never see any of that money. On the other hand, many people believe that these athletes do not deserve, nor should they expect to receive payment in return. They believe that these scholarships and the education are payment in itself. Some even bring up the question on if it is affordable or even realistic to pay college athletes.

In the year 2014, the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) made almost one billion dollars through ticket sales, merchandise licensing, and TV contracts (Sports). Yet, none of that money ever ends up in the pockets of the athletes, who are responsible for bringing in all of the revenue, who train for countless hours per week, leaving little time for anything outside of sports. Practice and constant travel, added to the stresses of school work, make it difficult for a college athlete to hold down a job. The NCAA is unfairly making money from the athletes, and the athletes should get a cut of the profit. College athletes should be paid to play.

Before, college athletics was a stepping stone towards the athletes professional future. Now in the 21st century, it is a lucrative business. D-I college athletics is the majority of income for major universities. They collect money from ticket sales, merchandise, T.V. contracts, etc. The athletes, however, receive a scholarship and not much more. Even though receiving a college education is something most people would not complain about, when these athletes practice longer than the average American work week and don 't receive money to sustain themselves, it is time for a change. Athletes dedicate their lives to a sport and train hard to make it big. There has been a lot of controversy whether or not student athletes should be paid, and

For year’s people, athletes, college directors, and even the fans have always had different opinions on whether or not that the NCAA should pay the college athletes. Many people think that most of the athletes put in as much time for it to be considered a full time job so that they deserved to be payed, but others think different. Other people think people think college athletes shouldn’t be paid since they are supposed to be students while in school and not employees until they reach the professional level. No matter what people think college sports are watched by millions of people and are entertaining to watch and if the athletes are getting paid or not, it shouldn’t take the entertainment and passion that everyone has for each sport. Many people think that college athletes deserve to be paid with all the time they put in into practices, workouts, and traveling for away games while still going to school, up to 60 hours a week, and maintaining the grades they need to have to be able to play.

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