Essay: Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

College sports is one of the best-known entertainments around the world. But for the athletes, they are students first then athletes second. For college student-athletes, there are a variety of scholarships and grants to help pay for college or college debt. However, some critics say that student-athletes should be paid a salary like pro athletes would, with help from scholarships or grants. The authors of, College Athletes are being Educated, not Exploited, Val Ackerman and Larry Scott, argue that student-athletes are already paid by free education and other necessities.

(Hook) How would you feel if you worked hours making your company millions of dollars and they didn’t pay you? (Bridge) Many student athletes spend as much time practicing and competing as people do working. Plus spend many hours going to class and studying. Athletes do not have time to get a part time like many student.

Cutting sports in college is always a difficult decision for any college to make. College sports are extremely popular and are incredibly vital to some colleges. Intercollegiate sports help the college recruit new students and for funding. Some colleges though cannot afford to keep the programs, and eventually end up cutting the program completely. Community colleges are faced with dilemma in which to either to have or not to have an intercollegiate sport programs.

At first, it was a great place to watch athletes play sports while making sure the rules were being followed. But now in the 21st century, the NCAA is a billion dollar company. Why hasn’t anything changed? Because the decision makers have the mentality of, “This is the way it’s always been.” They’re scared to make amendments, even when it’s necessary.

With their sports taking up as many hours as a regular job does, the sport should be considered a job, therefore, paying the student

Many choose to get into a college a easier way by getting a scholarship to pay less. There are many ways to get a scholarship like a sports scholarship, or a scholarship for being good in academics. Some get loans, but then later have to pay them back, which is more harder for people. In the article "What Makes College a Good Value?" by Jeremy Alder the author states,"Part of the quandary for many is that according to statistics, higher education leads to far greater earning opportunities" ( Alder, 1). College is a higher education that people take to be more successful in life and it is very important to many people as to getting a career and better job with more

It is unbelievable on how high the college tuition has increased, the rates in percentages have gone up fairly quickly, it is also unbelievable on how the increase in college tuition can impact high school students career by just simply saying that the are not going to college because it is way to expensive for their budget. No matter what college tuition is going to continue to raise if the Federal Government and Congressional leaders do not take more action into helping out students and families who need help with paying off college tuition and college debts and cost. Although the government does help families that are in need of financial aid to send their kids to college, there are many solutions into helping the college tuition decrease or at least expensive like having the Federal Government and Congressional Leaders have action and impact the decrease in the tuition, Students can also get scholarships and lastly there are many different groups that can help out with paying off college tuitions. The college tuition has raised drastically from the years of 1974 to 2015 the tuition has gone up by 1%, it is just 1% but one percent is a very large number when it comes to paying off college tuition

How will they pay them, will it be fair? Each player should get the same amount of money not that much but a enough to get by. In conclusion, College basketball players should take the right steps with money. College basketball athletes should be paid because they put their bodies at risk at risk, they also don’t have money, and they skip classes.

The question about whether college is valuable or not has been pondered by many for quite some time. Today, this question is more important than ever as college tuition prices are rising exponentially. Some sources say that college is worth the price; that it builds human capital, teaches to live life to the fullest, and helps maintain important friendships. On the flip side, sources say that college is not worth it due to the high costs, and the fact that college graduates go into low skill jobs that don’t require college degrees anyway. In today’s workforce however, college education is a must because it lets people learn to develop communication skills, earn more money, and get high-paying jobs.

Loans allow receiving a college education seem like a smoother process considering that such a hefty amount to pay is divided so that it can be paid for in moderation. Despite the fact that it’s split into many payments, it’s still a large quantity all in all so unless indebted students aim for high income jobs, there would many years of difficulty to come after college. For this reason, undergraduates make it their goal to go after jobs which would prevent them from being constantly pressured to pay off debt. Thus, student debt is both a crisis and a reason to encourage persistence towards greater ambitions (Hillman, 41). It is a tremendous thing when a student seeks to be financially comfortable or even rich in the future but not when it is for the wrong reasons.

What should the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) do? Due to their hard work, time and risk of injuries, college athletes should be paid. Even if the NCAA or their own colleges can’t pay them too much, they deserve to be paid even just a little. It would be really helpful for some students to get some extra money.

Furthermore, the decision to start paying the athletes not only would create a even playing field that has typically been swayed toward the universities. Stipends are needed to control how much is allocated, but that itself will be the spark that is needed. This is important because the relationship between the NCAA and their athletes are like any other employer its employee; employer should pay the employee what they are worth, not just what they feel is equal. The NCAA has duplicated the structure that held many people down in the 1800’s - slavery. They earn the massive income as the laborers (athlete) settle for pennies.

This is a big decision that could impact the lives of thousands nationwide and revolutionize sports as we know it. College athletes should not be paid because of the many benefits that come with being a student athlete and because it is not a realistic resolution. One reason college athletes should not be paid is because of the many benefits there already are to playing a collegiate sport. One being reduced or free admission also known as a scholarship. As the athletes receiving scholarships have a full ride through college their payment is in the form of education benefits as opposed to direct compensation.

One argument against the payment of college athletes are the scholarships they receive. “The notion that a full scholarship is not a fair exchange for athletic services provided to a university—regardless of how much money an athletic department generates from those services—is ridiculous” (Whitlock). College is very expensive to attend, and with so many students going into thousands of dollars of debt, it is a privilege that some athletes are lucky to receive. Whitlock also argues that the money the athletes will receive from the schools will go towards the purchase of drugs and alcohol, and other unnecessary things.

In conclusion, college athletes should be paid because they bring in a ton of revenue for their schools while risking injury and yet are unable to afford the cost of living. The time that is put into the sport is the equivalent, if not more, than the time that is put into a full time job. Only thirty-three percent of students receive scholarships, most of them partial. Also, only one percent of all college athletes will play professional sports after their college tenure is served. The NCAA and Division One Colleges generate profits that do not trickle down to the athletes.