Should We Pay College Athletes Essay
Michael Goods
En104
Should We Pay College Athletes?
Should we pay college athletes? Many young adults work hard to become a college athlete, putting in tons of extra hours to earn the spot, to challenge, prepare and focus themselves for the opponents they’re about to face. College for most students is a large burden to pay for whether the money is coming from parents, family, scholarships, loans it can cause great stress and conflict in a household. Being a college athlete is like working two different jobs. Well some may feel that college athletes have to work on school and sports therefore they deserve to be paid; however, College athletes are well recognized for their athletic ability and receive a full scholarship which should be enough compensation. There are those who might think college athletes who will receive pay would lose a passion for the sport. Take Lenny Cooke for an example. Cooke was born April 29th 1982 in Brooklyn New York and was an American professional Basketball player who is known for being an early entry candidate in the 2002 NBA draft. Cooke was the ideal definition of a star athlete who could have had it all, but due to not being able to handle the fame and wealth that people were giving him Cooke lost full scholarships …show more content…
and even NBA offers because he was not able to maintain his grade point average. Athletes are already getting compensation from their college up to 50,000 a year just to go to school (VanRiper). As Forbes Staff writer Tom Van Riper explains, "According to census bureau data, college graduates earn approximately $1 million more during their lifetimes than people whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma. Most have to invest $100,000 to $200,000 to get that coveted college degree. A scholarship athlete doesn’t.” Therefore the school is literally paying off their college education which on average will ultimately grant them 1 million dollars more in one lifetime. "The report titled "The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings" reveals that over an adult 's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor 's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master 's degree, $2.5 million." “1997: 1999 Work experience and Average annual earning of workers 25 to 64 years old education attainment bachelor’s degrees earned between 45,000 to 52,200”, where for kids will want to earn their degree while they’re playing sports and not just play sports so that after they graduate they can continue to make money, not go bankrupt. Colleges are giving them the material to earn twice as much without cost, while catering to their athletic needs and providing academic aid. It 's that giving enough? College is the next level of education after high school; it is not known as the next level of sports, therefore priorities should be the student first, athlete second, because once colleges pay athletes it will single out being an athlete first and a student second.
Athletes need to recognize being given a scholarship for talents outside of academics is already something to be grateful for.
They need to appreciate what they are being given and if they forget the article, “Paying college athletes would be a mistake,” written by Sports editor Al Edwards, regurgitates "Many college athletes who are on scholarships are already being paid. In addition to having their education paid for by the school – which can be as much as $50,000 per year depending on the institution – players are receiving free room and board, tutoring, money for books, access to some of the most elite fitness training and physical therapy, and exposure that could help them become a professional
athlete."
Colleges are training or preparing athletes for professional sports. Being 17-22 years old is a time in life where yes, their bodies for the most part are grown and ready but the brains of these young athletes are exposed to enough and developed enough to handle all that they are being given. It’s a time to develop, educate, and prepare student athletes for what could come; good and bad, educators want young adults to be able to handle the opportunities and conflicts that they are going to be able to handle with class and grace. College is the stepping stone that creates that well rounded athlete that can handle themselves, in every situation. College athletes should be paid because they are not compensated for their work being put into sports. The money that’s generated for their University and for the NCAA is astounding. That being said, is this a bad thing building their fan base, giving them academic and social opportunity, giving them publicity, getting their names out there for scouts and promoters to notice? "And let’s not call them exploited – they aren’t. Slaves were exploited. A scholarship athlete at a university can leave anytime he wants to, free to become a tuition-paying student like anyone else," as the author of “Sorry Time Magazine: Colleges Have no Reason to Pay Athletes” points out. If they don’t like the hype or the pressure coming from the sports there are no contracts, no laws against them leaving the college to go to another one. If society opens the opportunity to pay college athletes, Pandora’s Box will be opened. This brings up the questions "Do all of the players get paid, regardless of playing time, or just those athletes that quantifiably earn the institution money?" "Will sports agents be allowed to negotiate deals?" Not to mention the stress put onto the players. Money in their pockets their family is going to want, their friends will want, corruption in their society, in the game itself will become more than just the game or just the scholarship and these young adults may not know what to do with the money, not to mention all the negative or even illegal things they could do with it. "According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 60 percent of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, many pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life"(Corben). If grown men who have been in the business and have experience with money and fame cannot even handle their money why on earth would college athletes want to have these problems?
College athletes are students first and come to school for an education. They are receiving over 50,000 in scholarships for free. That comes with a meal plan and predominantly being taken care of. An 18 year old would not know how to manage such a massive account of money anyways.
So should we pay student athletes or would be giving them cash on top of a four year education equipped with housing, food and education too much? College presents a world of opportunity to expand your knowledge and obtain a career not just a job. Not everyone is presented with the opportunity to expand their education onto college and for most that do, they end up paying back their loans for the rest of their young adult lives. Scholarship athletes are already being fairly compensated for their love of the game, which they’re going to play whether they are getting paid or they’re playing a pickup game, so they should not receive additional compensation.
Works Cited
Edwards, Al. “Paying college athletes would be a mistake.” Journal Tribune. 17 Sept. 2013.
Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Riper, Tom. “Sorry Time Magazine: Colleges Have No Reason To Pay Athletes.” Forbes.
6 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Broke. Dir. Corben Billy. Prod. Billy Corben, David Cypkin, and Alfred Spellman. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Longley, Robert. “Lifetime Earnings Soar with Education.” About.com. 17, Aug. 2013 Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
En104
Should We Pay College Athletes?
Should we pay college athletes? Many young adults work hard to become a college athlete, putting in tons of extra hours to earn the spot, to challenge, prepare and focus themselves for the opponents they’re about to face. College for most students is a large burden to pay for whether the money is coming from parents, family, scholarships, loans it can cause great stress and conflict in a household. Being a college athlete is like working two different jobs. Well some may feel that college athletes have to work on school and sports therefore they deserve to be paid; however, College athletes are well recognized for their athletic ability and receive a full scholarship which should be enough compensation. There are those who might think college athletes who will receive pay would lose a passion for the sport. Take Lenny Cooke for an example. Cooke was born April 29th 1982 in Brooklyn New York and was an American professional Basketball player who is known for being an early entry candidate in the 2002 NBA draft. Cooke was the ideal definition of a star athlete who could have had it all, but due to not being able to handle the fame and wealth that people were giving him Cooke lost full scholarships …show more content…
and even NBA offers because he was not able to maintain his grade point average. Athletes are already getting compensation from their college up to 50,000 a year just to go to school (VanRiper). As Forbes Staff writer Tom Van Riper explains, "According to census bureau data, college graduates earn approximately $1 million more during their lifetimes than people whose highest educational attainment is a high school diploma. Most have to invest $100,000 to $200,000 to get that coveted college degree. A scholarship athlete doesn’t.” Therefore the school is literally paying off their college education which on average will ultimately grant them 1 million dollars more in one lifetime. "The report titled "The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings" reveals that over an adult 's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor 's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master 's degree, $2.5 million." “1997: 1999 Work experience and Average annual earning of workers 25 to 64 years old education attainment bachelor’s degrees earned between 45,000 to 52,200”, where for kids will want to earn their degree while they’re playing sports and not just play sports so that after they graduate they can continue to make money, not go bankrupt. Colleges are giving them the material to earn twice as much without cost, while catering to their athletic needs and providing academic aid. It 's that giving enough? College is the next level of education after high school; it is not known as the next level of sports, therefore priorities should be the student first, athlete second, because once colleges pay athletes it will single out being an athlete first and a student second.
Athletes need to recognize being given a scholarship for talents outside of academics is already something to be grateful for.
They need to appreciate what they are being given and if they forget the article, “Paying college athletes would be a mistake,” written by Sports editor Al Edwards, regurgitates "Many college athletes who are on scholarships are already being paid. In addition to having their education paid for by the school – which can be as much as $50,000 per year depending on the institution – players are receiving free room and board, tutoring, money for books, access to some of the most elite fitness training and physical therapy, and exposure that could help them become a professional
athlete."
Colleges are training or preparing athletes for professional sports. Being 17-22 years old is a time in life where yes, their bodies for the most part are grown and ready but the brains of these young athletes are exposed to enough and developed enough to handle all that they are being given. It’s a time to develop, educate, and prepare student athletes for what could come; good and bad, educators want young adults to be able to handle the opportunities and conflicts that they are going to be able to handle with class and grace. College is the stepping stone that creates that well rounded athlete that can handle themselves, in every situation. College athletes should be paid because they are not compensated for their work being put into sports. The money that’s generated for their University and for the NCAA is astounding. That being said, is this a bad thing building their fan base, giving them academic and social opportunity, giving them publicity, getting their names out there for scouts and promoters to notice? "And let’s not call them exploited – they aren’t. Slaves were exploited. A scholarship athlete at a university can leave anytime he wants to, free to become a tuition-paying student like anyone else," as the author of “Sorry Time Magazine: Colleges Have no Reason to Pay Athletes” points out. If they don’t like the hype or the pressure coming from the sports there are no contracts, no laws against them leaving the college to go to another one. If society opens the opportunity to pay college athletes, Pandora’s Box will be opened. This brings up the questions "Do all of the players get paid, regardless of playing time, or just those athletes that quantifiably earn the institution money?" "Will sports agents be allowed to negotiate deals?" Not to mention the stress put onto the players. Money in their pockets their family is going to want, their friends will want, corruption in their society, in the game itself will become more than just the game or just the scholarship and these young adults may not know what to do with the money, not to mention all the negative or even illegal things they could do with it. "According to a 2009 Sports Illustrated article, 60 percent of former NBA players are broke within five years of retirement. By the time they have been retired for two years, 78% of former NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress. Sucked into bad investments, stalked by freeloaders, saddled with medical problems, and naturally prone to showing off, many pro athletes get shocked by harsh economic realities after years of living the high life"(Corben). If grown men who have been in the business and have experience with money and fame cannot even handle their money why on earth would college athletes want to have these problems?
College athletes are students first and come to school for an education. They are receiving over 50,000 in scholarships for free. That comes with a meal plan and predominantly being taken care of. An 18 year old would not know how to manage such a massive account of money anyways.
So should we pay student athletes or would be giving them cash on top of a four year education equipped with housing, food and education too much? College presents a world of opportunity to expand your knowledge and obtain a career not just a job. Not everyone is presented with the opportunity to expand their education onto college and for most that do, they end up paying back their loans for the rest of their young adult lives. Scholarship athletes are already being fairly compensated for their love of the game, which they’re going to play whether they are getting paid or they’re playing a pickup game, so they should not receive additional compensation.
Works Cited
Edwards, Al. “Paying college athletes would be a mistake.” Journal Tribune. 17 Sept. 2013.
Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Riper, Tom. “Sorry Time Magazine: Colleges Have No Reason To Pay Athletes.” Forbes.
6 Sept. 2013. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Broke. Dir. Corben Billy. Prod. Billy Corben, David Cypkin, and Alfred Spellman. Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. Web. 3 Nov. 2013.
Longley, Robert. “Lifetime Earnings Soar with Education.” About.com. 17, Aug. 2013 Web. 3 Nov. 2013.