Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Should college athletes be paid? This question has been the subject of debate for many years. There are pros and cons to both sides of the issue, but college athletes deserve to be paid for several reasons. One reason is that college athletes are not allowed to work and earn money when they are playing a sport. Another is that college athletes can contribute to a winning team that attracts fans and raises ticket sales and can bring in money through sponsorships and merchandising. Paying college athletes will also prevent them from accepting bribes, such as money, cars and clothes.

Another consideration is how are athletes going to afford all the necessary expenses for college, especially if they come from poor families. Some people say that athletes are being paid with an education, but what if an athlete has an injury that requires surgery? Athletes and their families will need money to pay medical bills, which will be expensive. Surgery is not cheap and they may not be able to pay the medical bill. Lastly, paying athletes may help them stay in school longer rather than turning professional where they could stand to make a lot of money. "Should College Athletes Be Paid? " New York Public Library. 2003. 21 Dec. 2009 . ) College athletes should be paid because they are not allowed to work and earn money. ("Slaves of Big Time College Sports. " USA Today. 2000. Eitzen, D Stanley. 21 Dec. 2009 . ) Without that money, many athletes may not be able to afford college or the associated expenses, such as food or rent if they live off campus. This defeats a key goal of college, which is to make students self-sufficient and be able to take care of themselves without their parents or guardians.

Another reason that college athletes should be paid is that they attract fans and sponsors but receive none of the profit. It has been estimated that a Division One school can earn as much as $750 million from ticket sales and merchandising in just one football season. ("Slaves of Big Time College Sports. " USA Today. 2000. Eitzen, D Stanley. 21 Dec. 2009 . ). That amount equals almost $11. 3 million per player! The school should take some of the profit, and the college athletes should receive the majority of it, which clearly does not happen. Instead none of the money goes to the athletes.

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In addition to ticket sales and merchandising, schools also receive sponsorships. Merchandise brings in less than $1 million annually to the University of Florida compared to the $69 million total revenue. Again, this number would be significantly less in a school that did not win back to back-to-back championships. Merchandise is low on the list of revenue behind boosters, sponsorships, ticket sales, etc. (“Should Student Athletes Like Tim Tebow Be Paid for Endorsements? ” The Bleacher Report. 2009. Brown, Jeremy. 10 March 2010 http://www. thebleacherreport. com).

The head of the Tennessee women’s basketball team receives $200,000 a year from sponsorships and radio and television shows, in addition to her $175,000 salary. The $200,000 she receives from sponsorships and radio and television goes directly to her: the athletes do not get a penny of it. ("Should College Athletes Be Paid? " Issues and Controversies. 1999. 18 Dec. 2009 . ) Paying college athletes would prevent them from accepting bribes. An opposing school could offer a key player on the team money to throw a game. That key player could be bribed into doing this. If athletes were paid, it would reduce the chances of this happening.

Players may also be bribed with money or cars to go to a certain college. This would have the effect of making wealthier schools better at sports because they can afford to pay the players with bribes. Another reason for paying college athletes is to keep them in college. The truly good athletes may have the opportunity to turn professional in their junior year and make millions of dollars. If they are at least being paid some money in college, that could give them a reason to stay and complete their senior year and graduate. Some people say that college athletes are being paid with an education.

An education is important and should be the priority, but the reality is many Division One athletes go to college to play sports with the hope of becoming professional. An education does not pay for food or clothes or an injury that may happen. Medical bills are expensive, and the athletes and their families might not be able to afford the necessary medical treatments. Furthermore, institutions’ athletic scholarships in reality are not usually good enough to support entire teams. “We examined such scholarships available at our institution, and it is clear that most scholarships aren’t ‘full rides. They fail to cover a lot of the expenses throughout the four years of college. In addition, there is no guarantee that an annual athletic scholarship will be renewed for every returning student athlete. ” (“Should Student-Athletes Be Paid? ” The Sport Digest. Martin M. 2008. 9 March 2010 http://www. thesportsdigest. com. ) Athletes should be paid to play for many reasons. College athletes are not allowed to work and to earn money for school and related expenses. They also attract fans and raise money from ticket sales, sponsorships and merchandising to benefit their schools but do not receive any of that money in return.

Paying athletes may also prevent them from accepting bribes such as money, clothes and cars. Lastly, if athletes were paid, it could help encourage them to stay in school and waiting until graduating before they turn professional. Bibliography Brown, Jeremy “Should Student Athletes Like Tim Tebow Get Paid For Endorsements? ” The Bleacher Report. 16 November 2009. Croton Harmon High School Library, Croton on Hudson, NY. 10 March 2010. http://www. thebleacherreport. com Eitzen, D Stanley “Slaves of Big Time College Sports” USA Today. September 26 2000. Sirs. Croton Harmon High School Library, Croton on Hudson, NY. 1 December 2009. http://sks. sirs. com M, Martin “Should Student Athletes Be Paid? ” The Sports Digest. 21 April 2008. Croton Harmon High School Library, Croton on Hudson, NY. 9 March 2010. http://:www. thesportsdigest. com Shenk, David “Should College Athletes Be Paid? ” New York Public Library. 27 July 2003. Croton Harmon High School Library, Croton on Hudson, NY. 21 December 2009. http://nypl. org “Should College Athletes Be Paid? ” Issues and Controversies. 4 June 1999. Facts on File. Croton Harmon High School Library, Croton on Hudson, NY. 18 December 2009. http://www. 2facts. com

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