Athletes Being Paid

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College Athletes Being Paid
Sep 18, 2013 1916 words 8 pages
Should College Athletes Be Paid?
For over a century, college sports have been among the most popular and loved sports in the American media, with the biggest event being March Madness. This event alone generates almost a billion dollars for the NCAA every year. They are well rewarded for the advertising and publicity that they generate around college sports. The athletes however, are not. Most athletes in major NCAA Division 1 schools have full scholarships, which guarantee them a free education, but no other benefits. Although there are some regulations around the number of hours a college athlete is allowed to spend on or off the field practicing and working out, the amount
of time NCAA athletes put in practicing is very similar to that of a professional athlete. Many college athletes do not get any breaks during the winter because they are preparing for big games scheduled during Christmas time. Although the similarities in practice routines between college athletes and professionals are very clear, their incomes differ greatly. The amount of practice these student-athletes have, working long and hard to perfect their craft, generates money and exposure for their respective universities. It must be realized that as a result of being student-athletes, these men and women lose out on many experiences the regular college student does not, and it is due to this fact that all college athletes should receive compensation through their universities and the NCAA.
Money and Exposure for The University
The NCAA generates a very large amount of money from college sports considering they sign billion dollar deals with top TV stations in the nation to show their athletes on television. They also make enormous amount of money in ticket and merchandise sales. Another way the NCAA makes revenue is by using top athletes in commercials broadcasted nation-wide as well as by putting the faces of these athletes on banners in which athletes have no say in since they receive a "free education." This "free education" or scholarship, costs the university about $25,000 to $60,000 yearly. This is not a fraction of the billion dollar deals that are signed by the presidents of the NCAA, which are making money off these athletes' hard work and talent. Also because of all the time athletes spend practicing and working out, many do not have any time to get part time jobs outside of university in order to cover living expenses as well as spending expenses. It is expected that college students need spending money in order lead a healthy college life style. Whether it is going out to a movie with friends or bowling on a weekend off, these student athletes do not have these opportunities unless they receive funding from their parents. Many top universities respond to this issue with the same response “But they are not professionals they are just kids why should we pay them?” Meanwhile there are athletes at the ages of 19, even younger, which are young enough to be in college making several millions of dollars a year playing professionally instead of going to college. It can be argued that for some athletes, especially those growing up in families that are not wealthy this may be the better route to take and skip college altogether.
Finishing Four Years and Experiencing College
The goal for a university student should be to finish four year of college and receive a degree, but because of all the money involved in pro sports, most top college athletes complete only one year and leave because there is more money in pro sports. This defeats the purpose of going to university. Historically, going to university is a minimum four year experience, but athletes these days, are not following through with the tradition of university. Many universities are also arguing that it is not fair for many of the top athletes to only stay for one year and leave for the big leagues. Many athletes go for only one year in order to fulfill the requirement that many of the top professional leagues impose on young athletes. If they were to receive money from their universities in the first place, there is a very good chance this could be avoided and many athletes would finish their four years, earning a degree which should be a top priority when attending university. These athletes who know that they are going to leave after a year do not put any effort into the educational aspect of their college experience since they know they are leaving. Higher governing bodies should start paying college athletes money or many will stop coming to college and therefore universities will not generate as much income as they are used to seeing.
Many experiences that a college student goes through in university cannot be experienced the same way by student athletes.
The amount of hours they put in with practice, study hall and games rob them of the free time a college student should have. College is generally more about the education a student should receive but is also about all the people someone can meet as well as what college is all about which is making friends and having fun. A college athlete does not have too much time to spend with any friends when he has around fifteen hours a week of school and another 20-25 hours of sports related activity. After 35-40 hours of sport related activities taking up a college athlete’s time, there is not much free time that an athlete can spend on the other experiences which college has to offer. Having so many hours allocated for education and sports related activities, an athlete cannot have any time to get a part time job and make some money for spending money instead of having their parent’s still supporting them. Although, most of the top college athletes from the top teams do receive full scholarships where they don’t have to pay for tuition or room and board. Spending money is not included in a scholarship which means an athlete’s parents have to support them even after high school. Being only a student would enable a lot of free hours extra where a student can get a part time job and pay for their tuition as well as spending
money.
The Amount of Money They Lose
The amount of money that an athlete loses by going to college instead of turning professional is astronomical in some cases and still a very significant sum of money to almost anyone. The minimum salary in the four professional American sports is around 400-500 thousand a year which is a very significant sum of money for anyone especially for many of the athletes who struggle with money but also are supported by their families for spending money while they are at university. If there were playing professionally already they would be making money that could support them and their respective families as well as help for the future. Many of the professional leagues now have a requirement which forces players to play at least a year in college. This is not fair to the players as there is a possibility where they do not perform well enough and are not as sought after as they were before, but also a very high chance of injury where they could end their careers or hamper the salary they were set to receive before attending college. This rule that the leagues have implemented also compel most high profile stars to only attend university for a single year and then enter the professional ranks. This looks bad on the university and the league itself because every fan knows that a high profile player will only stay there for a year and then be gone. If colleges start paying athletes, even the high profile stars might stay all four years in college as some players need to gain experience as well as work on their game so therefore college would be a great place. The amount of money that a college athlete loses by not going professional as well as the high risk of injury but also his value as a professional are all hampered by going to college and not getting anything in return.
Amount of Time Practicing
The amount of time that college athletes practice in a week is almost as much if not equal to the amount of hours that a professional athlete practices. The NCAA enforces a twenty hour maximum for practice times during a week which includes on field activities but not off field activities such as study hall with your teammates or watching game tape preparing for the next opponent. Including everything related to the sport, athletes sometimes spend around thirty hours practicing. These thirty hours make it very hard for athletes to compete academically in school where they spend around twenty hours on classes and homework weekly. Although no one from the NCAA will admit that for a top college athlete sport is first and then education. This is shown by having more hours dedicated to sport for a top college athlete than for education and homework. This thirty or so hours of sport related activity does not include the games they usually have during the week, the amount depending on the sport they play, add those hours to that total as well as missed classes in order to play those games, and that discrepancy between hours put in for sport compared to education moves even farther apart. Professional athletes do have a lot more games than college athletes but because of the amount of time they spend on the road travelling to games, they do not practice nearly as much as college athletes. Take in mind that college athletes also have classes to worry about, the amount of time spent on practices is a lot more significant to a college athlete then a professional since they do not have anything else to worry about. All the hours that college athletes spend on sports related activities such as practices, off field activities and study halls is far greater then what a professional athlete practices, and therefore should be paid some sort of compensation when professional athletes are making millions and millions of dollars.
What is the incentive of college if you are a top athlete?
Education is one of the least important factors on talented athlete's lives. What is the point of trying if the pro ranks are the only incentives these athletes have in mind? Most top college athletes are enrolled for one or two years and then turn professional. There is no benefit for them to go all four years and receive the education that is needed in the now globally competitive workplace. If college athletes, were paid, then there would be premium put on earning a degree, and if pro sports do not work out, these college athletes are then capable of being successful participants in the now growing economic workplace. If college athletes were paid, they would not be robbed of any college experiences and many of them would stay the full four years and receive a degree which will help them in the future after they retire from the sport. It would also be fair that they are paid compensation for working as hard as professional athletes as well as the money and exposure they give college sports which is very similar to the money that professional leagues
generate.