Research Paper On Paying College Athletes

Nathan Green
Mrs. Chanin
English 1020
20 April 2017
Paying the Players In today’s world sports are a business, and collegiate sports are no different. Division I college sports provide a huge portion of a university’s income. The school receives money from ticket sales, television contracts, and sport-related merchandise. The athletes on the other hand, receive little more than a scholarship. The majority of Division 1 athletes receive full scholarships to attend their choice university; however, this is an extremely small amount compared to the revenue they provide the university. Universities are exploiting athletes, and the players are beginning to realize it. It is becoming much more common for an athlete to discontinue their college
On average, “A complete Division 1 scholarship is $25,000 a year” (Hartnett). This would equate to $100,000 over four years. Though this is a lot of money, most athletes do not last the entire four years on a universities’ Division 1 team. Once a player is involved in a sport at the collegiate level, “There are politics, injuries, and team cuts that could terminate an athlete’s sporting career, and their scholarship, at a moment’s notice” (Hartnett). The $25,000 scholarship also only covers the basics of the average college student’s expenses. As Hartnett notes more on the scholarship amount, “It barely even covers the thousands of dollars in mysterious university fees, tuition, housing, a meal-plan and multiple hundred-dollar textbooks” (Hartnett). However, a scholarship does not always cover the cost of a student going on vacation, going to an average priced dinner, personal hygiene supplies, living quarters, or many other college essential items. Contrary to what the general public believes, a collegiate varsity position is a full-time job. On a typical day, Hartnett notes, “A player will wake up before classes, get a lift or conditioning session in, go to class until 3 or 4 p.m., go to practice, go to mandatory study hall, and then finish homework or study for a test” (Hartnett). With a schedule like this, it leaves absolutely
This has become a common occurrence in baseball, football and basketball (Clary). The majority of athletes choose to put their education on hold in order to begin making a living for themselves, something they cannot begin in college as they are not earning any money whatsoever for playing. Another key factor for entering the professional leagues early is the risk of injury (Clary). Many athletes feel that if they stay in college they could get injured and put their professional career at risk. Thus, they feel that it should not be a risk they have to take, as they are not being incentivized for their playing, and there are no programs ensuring their return to their sport. If collegiate athletes do however choose to leave college for the professional leagues, they will be paid outstanding salaries and teams provide benefits for injured players (Clary). Many athletes feel that they would be better off if they went to professional leagues, secured their financial future, and then return to their college studies after their career