Analysis: Why NCAA Players Should Be Paid

Why NCAA Players Should Be Paid.

With March Madness dominating the headlines and airwaves, it’s difficult not to admire the passion and effort of these nineteen year old athletes. However, while the marketing of, and revenue from, the tournament continues to grow for the television networks, the NCAA, the participating universities and their coaches, the NCAA athletes participating in it are expressly prohibited from collecting any financial compensation at all whatsoever. There is the argument that NCAA student-athletes should not be paid because of an opportunity provided to pursue a free higher education not given to the general public; but the assertion has several flaws, not the least of which is the extensive time and energy demanded
The football/basketball coach is the highest paid employee at most private and public universities. The maneuvering to pay large amounts of compensation to the coaches via ‘booster organizations’ if there is a State government cap at a public university Not to mention, each bowl game is sponsored by a different company such as AT&T, PlayStation, Chick-Fil-A, etc. The College playoff committee states “A conference will receive $6 million for each team that is selected for the semifinal games. There will be no additional distribution to conferences whose teams qualify for the national championship game. A conference will receive $4 million for each team that plays in a non-playoff bowl under the arrangement (in 2014-2015, the Cotton, Fiesta and Peach Bowls).” In other words, each conference is rewarded for each team that makes the semifinal games. Of course, the athletes themselves receive no compensation it’s only fair right. In an article in the New York Times Magazine “ Let’s Start Paying College Athletes” by Joe Nocera, Nocera himself writes “The hypocrisy that permeates big-money college sports takes your breath away. College football and men’s basketball have become such huge commercial enterprises that together they generate more than $6 billion in annual revenue, more than the National Basketball Association.” Nocera’s point is that the NCAA makes more money than its professional counterpart, none other than the National Basketball Association (NBA) and arguably the most important asset gets paid nothing. The business wouldn’t exist without them. Picture the movie and television industries with the actors/actresses prohibited from making any money. Or everyone in the hospital except the surgeon. In short, the athletes are participating in an industry, in a business