Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Should College Athletes be Paid?

How many times have you heard of college athletes being paid under the table or receiving gifts from the school they play for? How many times have these players actually deserved what they received? Many college athletes struggle to juggle their academic and work schedules. On top of that, college athletes need to dedicate themselves to a busy practice schedule as well. Why shouldn’t they be compensated for their time dedicated to helping their school? First, let’s consider how expensive the life of a college athlete can be. Playing sports is like a full time job. Most college athletes don’t have time for a real job. Most college athletes get recruited far away from their home. Their parents or family may not always be able
to support them. Many college athletes have to take out student loans. By being paid, they would be able to start paying off expensive loans. In addition to not being able to have a job as a college athlete, players should be paid also because of how hard they work. Second, try to imagine how hard you have to work in order to be a successful student and athlete in college, along with how much money their schools pull because of it. Colleges, especially division 1 schools, have thousands and hundreds of thousands of fans that pay money to watch the players, not the coaches and school athletic department. Some schools make millions off of local and national television deals, none of which is given to the players. Video game companies even replicate college athletes in their games, using their names and other information every year. Only the gaming company and the NCAA are able to profit from this. Because college athletes are not being compensated for the millions of dollars they generate, college athletes should be paid in order to eliminate undermining and unethical recruiting processes. Lastly, try to remember all of the famous college athletes that were recruited or compensated illegally.
If starters on the team were paid a fixed amount, there would be no need to try to persuade better players with extra cash. Many division 1 schools attract star athletes due to other under the table benefits. If players were paid, they wouldn’t need to be given cars or jewelry to disguise an increased bank account balance. Many college athlete’s names are tarnished due to unethical recruiting/compensations. Players that simply couldn’t afford to live their lifestyle wouldn’t be punished or given a bad reputation if they were paid. College athletes should be paid in order to: help them financially accommodate their expensive lifestyles, give them the money they played hard to earn, and to eliminate unethical recruiting and under the table payments. Considering how hard it is to support yourself while playing sports in college, the millions of dollars universities and the NCAA makes off of you and your teammates, and the unfair advantages in recruiting that some colleges deploy, paying student athletes should be heavily considered by everyone that calls themselves a sports
fan.