Graduation Speech: Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

I am a current High School student looking into where I’d like to attend college as well as play a sport, soccer in particular, and I’m reaching out to you, regarding the fact that no current students get paid any salary for playing any sport at college level. Many practicing athletes dedicate most of their time and money, as well as their focus on the sport rather than school or other daily activities. In all due respect, students deserve to be paid in return for keeping the athletic department alive and running. Ironically, the college television networks and various sports outlets benefit immensely and rake in billions while the blood sweat and tears given from each athlete results in zero dollars to them. Broadcasting helps advertise the college itself to continuously enroll new students yearly.

At High School level alone, I spend about 15 hours a week on my sport, as well as 6 hours a day for school, leaving me a maximum of 7 hours free for after school to do homework, practice, dinner and any other chores. For College, an average player spends over 40 hours a week on their sport. These same students are also working the same amount of hours on an employed job to
Good point, but there are plenty of costs associated with being a college athlete that the tuition doesn’t cover. Often times these students find themselves starving after the university's dining facilities have closed, forcing them to find additional dining options in which is money coming out of their own pocket. Also, there are even more costs for sports that don’t attain to the basic practice and game gear. This retains to buying dress clothes like suits or dresses for sports banquets or even parties. The price for these can skyrocket and hard to afford, especially when these events are