Should College Athletes Be Paid?
When joining college, several students admire getting an opportunity to participate in intercollegiate athletic programs. As a result, most of them will work hard while participating in high school athletics to stand a chance to get an admission in colleges that provide multiple programs that give student athletes a chance to compete. While competing in college athletics, these students work so hard to ensure that they bring their college the medals. As a result, this has sparked the motion should college athletes be paid? While some people argue college athletes should not be paid, college athletes should be paid for their services to their universities beyond receiving tuition because these universities generate a lot of income every year from these athletes as well as attracting popularity from the media thus attracting more students to the institution. In addition, college athletes should be paid because it will encourage college completion rates since they will not opt to drop out and join professional sports to earn money.<\/p>
Colleges' Financial Gain
\u00a0College athletes should be paid because they generate a lot of revenue for their colleges and these institutions are taking advantage of them financially. Murphy notes, \u201cCollege athletes generate a significant amount of revenue to their schools and the National Collegiate Athletic Association\u201d (1). After every competition, colleges gain huge profits from the hard work of the athletes. Some of them even indulge in merchandise sales where they send products that market the athletes. For instance, colleges might sell jerseys, food, and tickets during performances because college athletes are followed by fans that will at times even pay to watch their favorite athletes and buy their jerseys and all this money goes to the college. However, despite these events generating revenue for the colleges, the athletes do not see a dime from the collection yet it is their hard work that has brought all the fans in addition to making them buy the tons of merchandise. Since colleges on the account of college athletes generate a lot of income, they should be paid for their hard work. Why should colleges continue benefiting financially for the hard work of the athletes yet they are getting nothing? Money generated on the account of a college athlete should be shared with him\/her.<\/p>
Exploitation of Athletes' Names and Popularity<\/h3>
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In addition, we should note that the college sports, which as per now attract millions of fans, could not be in existence without the athletes. Therefore, it is not fair that these athletes are working hard to ensure that their colleges remain on top of athletics competitions yet they benefit nothing from revenue generated on their account. The colleges will even put a favorite athlete\u2019s name on a cap, jersey, and other sport wears to generate more sales yet no single dime is given to this athlete. Colleges and the NCAA should stop taking advantage of college athletes by using their names and popularity to get revenue and business deals yet the athlete is not given a percentage of the earnings. In fact, most college athletes get several business deals and endorsements yet they are limited by the schools and the NCAA to pursue the deals yet they earn a lot from them (Sanderson and Siegfried 118). Therefore, this madness should stop and college athletes paid in addition to being allowed to pursue business deals because it is their hard work and talent. College athletes deserve a financial recognition for their hard work and from the profits made from the sales of merchandise on with their names in addition to getting a chance to pursue their financial gains.<\/p>
Marketing and Attracting Talented Students<\/h2>
College athletes should be paid because they help market their colleges to the world thus attracting more talented students to the institution. College athletes who are great performers will always attract media coverage. Today, college sports generate millions from advertising contracts as well as donations from sports boosters who are happy about the athletes. According to Martinez, the media coverage colleges receive makes the college popular for athletics students and for this reason, colleges should stop using athletes to build or rather boost their reputation yet fail to compensate their efforts (College Express). It is only fair for college athletes to be rewarded for their hard work and efforts in athletics that help market the college because it is their hard work that brings fans and the media.<\/p>
Financial Needs and College Completion Rates<\/h3>
College athletes should be paid because some athletes come from poor families and despite being given free tuition, they might lack money for basic needs and this might affect their college completion rates. Abdul-Jabbar notes that while it might seem an odd idea to pay college athletes, the reality is that offering them free tuition is not enough for poor students (The Guardian). Compensation of college athletes will make the athletes compete steadily because they will have the morale to remain on top in addition to being encouraged to graduate with their college degrees because it will give them a motivation to remain in college instead of leaving to become professionals. These athletes are doing a service to the institution that seems to go unnoticed but by paying them, it will encourage them to complete their college degree, which is the reason, their joined college (Steckler 1071). However, if colleges continue debating on whether to pay college athletes or not, it will adversely affect the college completion rates for college athletes, as a majority of them will leave college to join professional leagues.<\/p>
Opposing Arguments<\/h2>
Opponents argue that college athletes should not be paid because they receive a bunch of benefits while playing for the colleges of their choice. They argue that most of the time, they do not pay tuition since they are riding on fully-fledged scholarships that will always cover their entire college fee, meals, housing, and textbooks (Kelly 212). In addition, they further argue that these college athletes get a chance to build a reputation for themselves in the sporting world while competing at the college level and they might end up getting the best teams or competing in big leagues after college. However, this is absurd because, in the first place, it is their hard work that gave them the chance to join college and compete in athletics. Secondly, beyond tuition, these students have other needs they need to take care of especially those from a poor background. Therefore, if schools continue contemplating whether to pay them or not, a good number of athletes will drop out of college to pursue professional sports just to earn some money.<\/p>
Amateurs vs. Professional Athletes<\/h3>
In addition, opponents argue that college athletes should not be paid because they are not professional athletes. This is absurd because at the end of the day, they are athletes just like the professional athletes and they generate income for their schools despite being amateurs and for this reason, they should be paid in spite of their status as students. These athletes spend time practicing to win when they could be spending this time studying and this should not be taken for granted in the name of they are amateurs since they are students (Tucker et al. 30).<\/p>
A Worthy Investment to the Colleges<\/h2>
Every year, college athletes put their health and their studies on a line to excel in sports. As a result, colleges are the ones enjoying the fruits of their labor in full while just offering them free tuition as a reward for their hard work. According to Tucker et al., \u201cThe majority of student-athletes reported that the demands of intercollegiate athletic competition prevented them from devoting as much time to the student side of their lives as they would like\u201d (28). While it is true that the fact that they got free tuition and joined college, they will get exposed via sports and stand a chance to get into professional sports. It is true that the athletes are the people putting in the hard work putting their studies and health on the line just to ensure that their colleges excel in sports. Therefore, it will not hurt if they are paid because they are a worthy investment to the colleges. Without them, there will be no college sports and no more popularity for the college.<\/p>
The Business of College Sports<\/h2>
College sports is a billion dollar business that has been in existence for years now. In fact, due to the rating of the best college athletes, college athletics is growing bigger and bigger thus generating more income to the colleges. In a year, colleges generate so much revenue from college athletics and for this reason; this money should be shared with the athletes. In fact, college athletes should be paid basing on the revenue generated by the university through apparel sales and ticket collection. Carden notes, college athletics is a profession like any other. Through college sports, universities are marketed and it is only fair that athletes are paid for their hard work beyond receiving free tuition because they deserve it (Forbes). It is true that education comes first that is why college athletes are given free the free tuition offer during admission. However, attending college for free cannot be compared to the amount of money college athletes generate for colleges and the amount of time they spend practicing instead of studying. According to Murphy, \u201cCollege athletes essentially work full-time jobs in addition to fulfilling their educational requirements\u201d (2). College athletes spend a lot of studying time to practice and generate money for their schools during college sports and they should be paid for that. They are the ones playing the game and not the coach nor the school. Without them, there are no sports since no one comes to pay to watch college athletics just to watch the coach, they pay to see the athletes in actions. Let colleges pay the athletes because they bring a lot of money to these colleges.<\/p>
Conclusion<\/h2>
In conclusion, collegiate sports has become a hot topic in the world of sports today with people debating whether college athletes should be paid or not. It is with no doubt that colleges bring schools a lot of revenue, popularity, and it encourages college completion rates for athletes. Therefore, beyond receiving free tuition, college athletes should be paid for their hard work. It is their play on the athletic field that makes the existence of college sports because without them, college athletics could not even exist. It is important that colleges start paying athletes apart from offering them free tuition alone because they deserve a pay for their hard work. College sports is a critical part of the school culture that should not be exploited. As much as these athletes receive scholarships, a majority of them comes from poor families and they do not have money to spend on their basic needs and other necessities while away in college. A scholarship is not payment enough for the hard work of these athletes considering college sports generate millions of dollars yearly for colleges.<\/p>
Works Cited
Abdul-Jabbar Kareem. It’s Time to Pay the Tab for America’s College Athletes. The Guardian. 9 Jan 2018. https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/jan/09/its-time-to-pay-the-tab-for americas-college-athletes Accessed 26 November 2018.
Carden Art. College Athletes are Worth Millions. They Should be Paid Like It. Forbes. 26 Jul 2018. https://www.forbes.com/sites/artcarden/2018/07/26/college-athletes-are-worth millions-they-should-be-paid-like-it/#44cc9447452e
Accessed 26 November 2018.
Kelly, Bryan. "NCAA-An Overview of Socioeconomic Status's Impact on College Athletes, and the Regulations and Impact That Can Revolutionize the Amateurism World." Pace Intell. Prop. Sports " Ent. LF 6 (2016): 212.
Martinez Madisen. Should College Student-Athletes be Paid? Both Sides of the Debate. College Express.20 Mar. 2012 https://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and advice/athletics/blog/should-college student-athletes-be-paid-both-sides-debate/ Accessed 26 November 2018.
Murphy, Sarah. "Bring Your Own Trademark: Compensating College Football Players Through Trademark Royalties." BC INTELL. PROP. " TECH. F. 2018 (2018): 1-12.
Sanderson, Allen R., and Siegfried John J. "The Case for Paying College Athletes." Journal of Economic Perspectives29.1 (2015): 115-38.
Steckler, Andrew. "Time to Pay College Athletes: Why the O'Bannon Decision Makes Pay-for Play Ripe for Mediation." Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 17 (2015): 1071.
Tucker, Kayla, et al. "Perceptions of College Student-Athletes." Journal of Undergraduate Ethnic Minority Psychology 2 (2016): 27-33.
