For a long time there has been an issue with college athletics, being that the athletes do not receive pay. This has been an ongoing debate for quite some time now with one side saying they should be paid and the other side saying they should not be paid. Some people think that a scholarship offer is enough and obviously it is helpful but these colleges are able to make immense revenue off these players. Also these athletes put their body’s on the line every time they compete and run the risk of being injured.
Student athletes should be paid for their work, because they are the lone reason for the income to the school. These athletes are working for the schools and are doing a service to the college that seems to go unnoticed. The lack of pay is not seen anywhere else in the workplace and shouldn’t be seen here. Colleges are using these student athletes to increase their reputations and bring in money while not compensating these student athletes for their work. Everywhere else athletes are paid, so why shouldn’t college students too? Some critics may argue that these student-athletes are amateurs, and if paid then are becoming professional athletes.
But, what is the difference if the team they are playing for can make money off of them while they can’t? People can say that athletes are not employees but they put in the effort, work, and time that any normal working person puts into their job. An athlete trains for 45 hours a week, that’s more than a full time job. A full time job is considered 40 hours. Training for 45 hours a week is hard enough work, and then trying to manage schoolwork on top of that is even more difficult.
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These student athletes, no matter how much they train and work are still vulnerable to injuries unfortunately. These injuries can stick with them for a lifetime and have serious side effects. Some of the injuries these athletes can sustain include concussions, broken bones, and joint injuries, to name a few. Depending on how serious the injury is, they might not be able to play the sport anymore and will lose their scholarship.
Not only do injuries affect the athlete, but also trying to focus on school and maintain a high grade point average is not an easy task to do. Trying to focus on a sport while having to make sure your grades are good so the athlete does not lose the scholarship is very nerve-wracking, which the stress could lead to playing worse on the team or not being able to keep their grades up. Some people would argue that they can just get a job to get money, but athletes can not do this since they spend so much time training, working on maintaining their grades, and also traveling with the team.
Another argument that supports paying college athletes, is that these so called full-ride scholarships given to the best athletes do not actually cover all their financial needs. Many athletes still can not afford to have their parents come to the stadium and watch the games. For example, in 2010, Duke basketball players were valued at close to $1million dollars each while living just about $700 above the poverty line. With all of the respect and publicity of these athletes, it goes unnoticed that a great deal of the players live very near to the poverty line. Since they have no money, black-markets are created. There are boosters that the University has that gives these players really anything they want as long as they play at the University.
In conclusion these hard working student athletes should be paid. Instead of all of the money going to the University and the association, they should give these athletes a salary to live on. They put all their time and dedication to the sport and still run the risk of being injured. The fact of the matter is that many of these athletes are being paid by booster clubs and other outside influences which is highly illegal since it does not abide by the rules. If student athletes were paid for playing for their University it would solve many problems and benefit these athletes immensely.
