Paying College Athletes

My plan to compensate student-athletes indirectly based on the amount of

revenue they generate individually.

Problems with current system
1. High-profile scandals at major football universities including Miami, Ohio State, and USC
involving the paying of athletes and selling of memorabilia.
2. Players arent always given due process rights in defending themselves against
accusations of violations.
3. A majority of college athletes are living below the poverty line.
4. A record 102 players entered the NFL Draft early (before finishing degree) this season.
This stat has been trending upward for several years.
o Students arent finishing their education, leaving them no fallback plan if their
playing career doesnt pan out.
o If they were getting some income while in college, they wouldnt be as inclined
to jump to the professional ranks in search of money.
5. Insufficient health care that allows schools to refuse to renew scholarships if a player
suffers a career ending injury.

My Proposed Resolution
Players should be allowed to profit from memorabilia sales, autograph signings,
endorsements, etc.
o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by making the selling of memorabilia and other
branding legal.
o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by giving students a source of income.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn money
while in college.
Scholarships should cover the full cost of attendance (extra $3,200).
o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by not forcing students to pay extra money for
their education.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving them some extra money while
in college.
Student-athlete enters into a four-year scholarship commitment with the school upon
signing Letter of Intent. Scholarships are worth $180,800 ($45,200 annually) and
contract covers medical expenses stemming from sport-related injuries. Decommitting,
transferring, failure to maintain the academic standards, or committing a violation
results in loss of scholarship. Otherwise scholarships are valid until the athletes
eligibility expires or they declare for the professional draft. Walk-ons can earn
scholarships at any point and their contracts also remain valid until they leave the
school.
o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by locking student athletes into contracts that
prevent them from decommitting or transferring if another school bribes them.
o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by ensuring students a source of income and not
forcing them to pay for sport-related injuries out of pocket.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving them more freedoms and
rights while in college.
o Helps solve problem 5 (health care) by ensuring that students dont have to pay
for sport-related injuries.
All former college football players qualify for $6,000 per year medical insurance, and
$3,000 for former hockey players. In other sports with less contact, athletes receive the
insurance only if they are known to have sustained a major injury in college.
o Helps solve problem 5 (health care) by providing athletes with medical insurance
to cover lingering effects of injuries, especially brain trauma.
Student-athletes are given due process in all cases.
o Helps solve problem 2 (due process) by ensuring that student-athletes can
defend themselves.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by giving athletes more rights while in
college.
Create an educational lockbox that can be accessed by the student-athletes once they
receive their college degrees if they had committed no NCAA infractions. Only
scholarship players would receive a lockbox. Money for the lockbox would come from:
o A portion of the schools revenue from bowl games/tournaments, TV deals,
ticket sales, etc. generated by that sport (mostly just for football and mens
basketball players).
Capped at $5,000 per student per year
Could cause a larger gap between haves and have-nots, but players on
better teams do generate more money
Plus high level recruits dont go to lower level schools and weaker players
dont get offers from higher level schools
o Money for winning certain individual awards such as the Heisman Trophy and
Wooden Award.
o Helps solve problem 1 (scandals) by providing players with sources of income so
that they dont need to seek illegal benefits.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by only allowing students to access
their lockbox if they stay in school and earn their degree.
The athletes, not the schools, receive 7% of the money generated by sales of their
replica jerseys at the end of each year (after their sports season).
o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by allowing some players to have a steady
stream of income.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn more
money while still in college.
Players receive a portion of the profits from NCAA video games, and the companies are
allowed to include player names in the games.
o People already know who the players are, so the athletes are currently being
exploited. Giving the players some money and including the names would give
players the credit they deserve and make the game less complicated.
o Helps solve problem 3 (poverty) by allowing all players to receive guaranteed
money.
o Helps solve problem 4 (early draft entry) by allowing athletes to earn more
money while still in college.