This year the super bowl was played in Atlanta, and it was the lowest scoring super bowl game ever! The teams that were playing were the Los Angeles Rams and the New England Patriots. The final score was 13-3 Patriots. Out of the many who played in the game was the Rams star running back Todd Gurley, who led the team in rushing. He was once the University of Georgia’s star running back when he played for the Georgia Bulldogs.
When he played for Georgia, he was suspended one time for four games for receiving money for signing some memorabilia for a fan. This brings us to our issue, should college athletes get paid? The N.C.A.A has not allowed college athletes to get paid or except money in any way for decades. College athletes should get paid though because it’s their talent that brings in the money, even with scholarships they still get in debt, and because a trust fund is not good enough.
First off, college athletes are already stressed enough over there rigorous schedules and their very important games. They do not need any more stress with being in debt. Debt is really easy to get into especially for college students who just left their homes and are just starting to understand how to be a adult. “But as profits from college sports continue to surge each year, diminishing the gap between elite college athletics and the pros, a growing number of student advocates argue that college athletes, many of whom practice upwards of 60 hours a week and often accumulate debt even with their scholarships, deserve a share of the profits,” (Green 6).
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If college athletes got paid, then they would not get into debt and then they could start to build a life a for themselves and learn how to manage their money. Only 2 percent of college athletes go pro so then the other 98 percent of college athletes need to start looking for real jobs out there and getting paid in college can help them do that.
Another reason college athletes should get paid is a judge ruled in the O’Bannon case that college athletes can get a trust fund that they can tap into after graduation, but they should get paid more than just a trust fund. They practice and work hard for 40 hours a week not even including games and deserve to get paid for that. With a trust fund that they can not tap into till after college, then they can still get in debt when they are in college so that is not what is best for them.
Also, if athletes got paid, then if they had a career ending injury they will have the money that they have previously made to fall back on, but with a trust found that they can not use till after graduation then they will have nothing to fall back on. “Association president Mark Emmert already has pushed for a $2,000 cost-of-attendance stipend, while the presidents of the Big Ten and Pac-12 schools have endorsed stipends and other small, athlete-friendly reforms like four-year guaranteed scholarships. What are schools actually losing here?
Beyond a potential extra $25,000 in cash — about the cost of a new Toyota Camry — per major college basketball or football player? Nothing,” (Hruby 23). See so with this trust found isn’t really getting the athletes paid like they deserve. This trust fund does not give these athletes justice and is an unruling way to “pay” them. Only the major players are getting little to nothing and this is just not right for all the college athletes including the major ones.
Lastly even though some people might read the first paragraph and say well if colleges just give salaries and take away the scholarships then the players will have to pay taxes and then they might not be able to pay their tuition and then they will be in dept anyway. That is a valid statement, but has an easy solution just give them both, a scholarship and a salary. It is because of their talent after all that the colleges get all the money that they do and so they need to give it to the players because without them then there is no money.
“College and basketball programs rake in billions of dollars each year through marketing, broadcast contracts, ticket sales and merchandising. The March Madness basketball tournament alone generates more than $1 billion each year in ad revenues, far more than the super bowl.” Imagine if people were making all this money off of you but you weren’t getting any of it. You would be mad right. That is exactly how college athletes feel and so they deserve to get paid.
In conclusion athletes should get paid because trust funds are not good enough, debt, and it is their talent that is bringing in all the profit. WIthout college athletes then we would not be able to enjoy all the sports that we all know and love. I urge you to stand up for this issue so that some day college athletes will get paid and finally get the money that they rightfully deserve.
