College Athletes Should Not Be Paid

In college, sports sometime become the facade of the university and or college. In return, the universities drastic rise in popularity comes from their sports programs. Ultimately, studies have shown student athletes put in more effort on the field or court than they do in the classroom. Therefore college student athletes should be paid for playing their sport while attending school. Many people say that college athletes should not be paid because college tuition, fees, rooms, and textbooks. They receive more than the average student can ever receive. The scholarships awarded to student athletes are very valuable in many ways. Without them, many would not be able to pursue their athletic goals because of financial issues. College sports generates
about "$11 billion for college sports industry" (Mitchell). "50 colleges annual revenue exceeds $50 million and 5 colleges annual revenue exceed $100 million."(Mitchell). The National Collegiate Athletic Association has sold "broadcast rights to its men's basketball tournaments for $770 million per season." (Mitchell). Universities should have more than enough money to provide for their school and also pay players at least a minimum salary of $5,000 per year. Studies have calculated that the fair market value of a player between the years 2011 through 2015 and came up with a figure of "$178,000 for football players"(Boren). Players that are most likely to be drafted to the NFL like "Johnny Manziel are worth as much as $550,000" (Boren). Although college football is very popular, the biggest money is in College Basketball. The fair-market value for a player in college basketball "over the same time is $375,000." (Boren).College athletes expected to be entered into the NBA draft, like "Andrew Wiggins of Kansas University, might be worth upwards of $1.6 million." (Boren). With players being worth so much the exceed the expectations of most college athletes, which in return brings pride and more popularity to the University. Although many college athletes are able to come to a university because they receive a full scholarship for education, top college football and men's basketball players put up to "60 hours a week in games and practice (Majerol).
This leaves the players very little or no time for academics. Robert and Amy McCormick, (professors at Michigan State University) think that "it is definitely a job for football and basketball players on athletic scholarships at Division 1 schools and that the players are "employees" (Cooper). These athletes barely have enough time to study for their classes let alone go out and find a job for money. They don't have the opportunity to save money for themselves if something were to happen to any of these athletes. Injuries can happen over the years and medical bills will start to build up. The average full-scholarship athlete "accumulates $3,200 in debt for each year they're in school." (Majerol). Recent studies have shown that meal plans and other incidents -such as injuries- often aren't fully covered. How can a "free education" compensate a players career ending injury that will leave them with nothing more than a lifetime of pain and medical bills? If a student-athlete ends up to be hurt or unsuccessful, the coaches and administrators will suddenly discard the "education" that was given and a player is left with nothing. Athletes who have also turned out to be a "recruiting mistake" can also be "fired" (Sack). If college player can be "fired"
then it's just as big of a business as professional sports. Only that the money goes into the pockets of the "coaches, athletic directors, conference commissioners , and the sports media executives" (Frederick). Many people believe that "paying student-athletes would destroy competitive balance in college sports" (Mitchell) but, it does not consider the possibility of other less alternatives to maintain the competitive balance. These student-athletes should be able to "endorse products, accept pay for speaking engagements, and get a cut of the profits universities gain by marketing their images” (Sack). They should also be allowed to have agents to help them plan their financial futures if anything were to happen to them in the future of their career. Everyone would benefit from a "college athletics system" that provides its athletes with better "compensation and lifetime health care" (Frederick). If players were paid they would also stop doing illegal things for cash. For example, Johnny Manziel sold autographs of himself for cash. In conclusion, if college student-athletes were paid everyone would still benefit from it, because the NCAA would still make more than enough money, the athletes will always have money for themselves if anything were to happen to them, and the staff would also still be paid enough money. However, the situation still prolongs whether they should be paid or not, and if it continues the system will become corrupt and we will loss college sports for good.