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Sports is a billion dollar industry in the USA. Aside from professional leagues, there are a lot of college sports programs and competitions where college student athletes participate. These student athletes are rising stars that have the potential of playing professionally in the future. These games capture a massive audience sometimes around 100,000. They broadcast on television, newspapers, radio, and social media. This massive publicity increases the number of followers.
College sports like American Basketball and Football get a great level of attention. Meaning the non-profit organization, NCAA, gets tons of money. For managing these college competitions. As CNN reports, back in 2014, they generated around 3 Billion US Dollars in revenue. From ticket sales and broadcasting rights. Yet, athletes don’t get paid a single penny out of these high-profiting college competitions.
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Why the debate arises
The debate on whether to pay college athletes has been going on for a long time. An argument against paying college athletes is that they are still amateurs players. All around the world, being part of a college sports team is like being part of an academic program. For which students are paying their fees. It’s not seen as a job or a career. Most athletes at the college level rely on financial aid and look for free tuition to commit to their sport. Believe it or not, it is a full time job. A college student athlete has to attend college, get an athletic scholarship, go through tiring training sessions, maintain good grades and compete academically with non athlete students.
Advertisers and college administrations get a lot of money from college sports. The public doesn’t know that the athletes bringing in all this money are not even getting the smallest share of it. College students sacrifice a lot to achieve success in sports. But they don’t get any compensation for their efforts. Some entities are struggling to provide payment rights to college athletes, including college students, college management staff, and some student welfare private organizations.
Reasons Why College Athletes Should Be Paid
There are many reasons why should college athletes be paid for playing sports. Here are some of them listed.
They Make Money for Their Colleges
When college athletes bring millions of dollars in revenue to their colleges, it is their right to get a cut of the amount. When their game season is on. Basketball and football players have become popular in every single household. They bring massive popularity to their respective institutions. Because sports is a multi billion dollar industry, college universities generate more money than all individual athletes combined. In fact, there is no comparison. They make so much money that they can pay college athletes handsome amounts and still be in profit.
Every single stakeholder involved in conducting these sports competitions makes money. But the ones responsible for generating the revenue don’t receive a single penny. This is nothing but a clear form of student exploitation.
They Bring Great Exposure to Their Colleges
College athletics bring a significant amount of exposure to the college. It increases the number of donations and admission applications. So it is only fair to pay student athletes to play sports.
Many studies show this increase in applications and donations. According to many pieces of research. When a college football team rises from average to extraordinary, the number of admission applications increases by 18.7%. Likewise, when a team wins five consecutive games in a season, the donations rise to 28%.
Playing is like a full-time job
Being a college athlete is like working from morning to evening, according to an NCAA survey conducted in 2017. Athletes dedicate around 35 hours per week to their gaming sessions. If a student spends these hours on a job, he can earn considerable money.
So, if a college athlete is missing out on this earning opportunity to be a part of a college sports team. He should get at least some amount for his time and effort.
Their Studies Get Compromised
Athletes have to commit a considerable amount of time to their sports sessions. And it affects their study time. If he needs to spend at least 35 hours per week on their sports, how will they manage their academics? Many student athletes have to miss class to play sports.
Athletes lose their chance of getting good grades in academics and getting a market competitive job. This is another valid reason for paying college athletes. As they represent their college on a national level.
College is becoming more and more expensive
People have many misconceptions. That college athletes study on full scholarships or get a debt-free education. There are many cases where students are unable to pursue their careers in sports. After college, these young athletes struggle hard for money.
College and universities are becoming expensive. Many college athletes come from underprivileged, minority, inner-city family backgrounds. They rely on loans to cover their basic costs of board and room as they are living below the poverty line. For these athletes, loss of physical form or one bad injury could create a huge difference. It can take them from pursuing a professional sports career to a lifetime in huge debt.
For these students, one bad injury or a sudden loss of form could be the difference between a professional sports career and a life in serious debt.
Their Chances of Getting an Injury Are Very High
Athletes put their health at high risk by participating in college sports. There are very high chances of getting an irreversible injury. This makes compensation a must for players.
An injured athlete could drop his college scholarship. Which is usually guaranteed for one year only. More so, it could jeopardize their chance of becoming professional athletes. And earning millions of dollars. Even they can get a lifelong injury that can cause them disability of any kind.
Even a college athlete can suffer from severe mental illnesses like dementia. Playing and training can put sheer pressure on an athlete. Keeping in mind all these reasons, monetary compensation is a must!
Getting Paid for Playing Motivates College Athletes to Perform Better
As some people argue that athletes get tuition waivers and scholarships. So, why college should pay them? The answer is simple, a scholarship or a fee waiver is not enough appreciation for the efforts athletes put in for their respective colleges. Their efforts need motivation and appreciation. Getting paid is an incentive for them to perform better.
This motivates them to become professional athletes. According to NCAA reports, less than 2% of college athletes become professional players. Offering them a work-study program or a stipend for playing can give them a reason to pursue their careers in athletics.
More so, they can use this money to cover their expenses. College student athletes who take sports as college activities, do not give their best. Monetary compensation can boost their motivation level, making them give their best.
This is also another way of encouraging other potential athletes to take part in college sports.
Paying College Athletes Would Attract Potential Players
Many students join colleges and universities to earn degrees. To prosper in academics and find a high-rewarding market competitive job. Makin money is the main priority of every student.
Some students have an interest in college sports and becoming an athlete. If college athletes start getting paid, it would be an excellent point of attraction for many potential students.
Paying them makes them stay in college for longer than required. It will motivate them to perform better in academics as well as athletics. Not paying the athletes, makes them give up a real-time sooner than expected.
Benefits of Paying College Athletes
In conclusion, the benefits of compensating college athletes for their efforts are many. Most of these young athletes put their hearts and souls into college sports. But they don’t get any reward. This puts NCAA in a very bad position. People believe that the NCAA gets cheap labor in the form of students and they don’t pay them anything.
This is a very sad reality. Students need to give their best in athletics while getting good grades in college. This can never happen without paying them. College athletes getting paid, won’t have to worry about covering their daily expenses. It will be easier for them to maintain a healthy college-life balance.
Some former college athletes have taken this matter to court. They are struggling for getting their services recognized. They want authorities to accept that paying college athletes is necessary. Nothing is for free these days. Some private non-profit organizations are also trying hard. To bring about a change in college athletes’ life. Change is not expected anytime soon but it better keeps the hopes up.
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References:
- https://www.topuniversities.com/where-to-study/north-america/united-states/why-college-athletes-deserve-be-paid
- https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2021/09/07/should-college-athletes-be-paid/
- https://www.collegesportsmadness.com/article/18319
- https://collegestrategic.com/why-college-athletes-should-be-paid/
- https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/11/student-athletes-should-get-paid-college-students-say.html