College Athletes Getting Paid

College Athletes Getting Paid

The University of Texas at El Paso
RWS 1301
11/05/2016
Esteban Fierro Gonzlez

College Athletes Getting Paid

2
Abstract

The issue of paying or not paying college athletes in the United States has been a problem
for students who represent their school in a specific sport. This issue has affected the education
and economy of the players, which also affects their future. Being paid is a responsibility that
can help or affect the students life. Stereotypes have given an example of college students as
irresponsible people. This makes it difficult for athletes who are already being benefited by their
fame to get a salary. But also, they need some money to pay the expenses that their scholarship
does not take care of. Despite the fact of having a very helpful scholarship, they should have
money for food and shelter. College athletes being paid has become an economic problem not
only for the players, but for the whole school.

Keywords: Student Scholarship, Economic Help, Health Programs, Financial Support

College Athletes Getting Paid

3
Introduction

College sports in the United States are one of the most popular and controversial events
around the world. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), is a non-profit
organization that is composed by more than 1,200 institutions that organize most of the college
sport events in the United States. Teams are grouped in three divisions, Division I, II, and III.
Football, basketball, baseball, soccer, and hockey are the main sports in which college athletes
seek to be drafted by a professional team, but only a small percent of the players reach the
professional level. Leaving the other percent without a clue of what they can do to change their
life for a better future. In the past few years, people have argued that college athletes should start
getting paid. Professional players and professors have said that college athletes should receive
most of the money a college team makes.
NCAA Revenues
During the 2014-2015 season, the NCAA reported $912.3 millions in revenue, which an
81% of it came from TV and marketing rights agreement with Turner and CBS Sports. 11%

Figure 1. NCAA Revenue Breakdown

came from Championships, 4% from

investments, and the other 4% from
contributions, sales and services. 96% of this
money is distributed to fund athletic
departments, support championships, and
scholarships, which means that this percent is
what the universities get.

College Athletes Getting Paid

According to USA Today, the average salary of a college coach in the United States is %1.64
million (2012). Every member of the team receives a specific amount of money except the
players, which are the ones that make most of it.
Student Scholarships and Rewards
Every student that plays for a college team has a full-tuition scholarship, and some of
them include other expenses such as meal plans and housing. Depending on the university,
athletes are recruited from high school and given scholarships including certain things. It is a fair
reward that they do not have to pay for college, but they also depend on funds for food and
shelter, and most scholarship do not include that. Robert and Amy McCormick, two Michigan
State law professors, say that college athletes qualify as employees under federal labor laws.
Theymentionthatathletesareunabletotakeamajorthatitsclassesinterferewithpractice
schedulesbecausetheydedicatemostoftheirtimetotheteam.Thismakesthescholarships
uselessbecausetheyneverhavetimetoactuallygotoclassandstudy.AccordingtoDave
Anderson,theaverageAmericanfulltimeworkcontractstatesthattheemployeewillwork40
hoursperweek.Athletesdedicateanaverageof43.3hoursperweektotheirsport,makingthem
afulltimeemployeeandsupportingtheargumentofcollegeathletesbeingpaid.Healso
mentionsthat,payingathleteswouldmakethesportmorecompetitiveandasalarywouldhelp
athleteslearnhowtomanagetheirownmoney(2016).
Somescholarshipsdonotincludehealthplans,whichareextremelyimportantforthe
athletesohecanrecoverwheneverhesuffersaninjury.Anumberofstudentathletes
developingchronicinjurieshasincreasedduetoalotoftrainingandnoperformance(Sander,
2011).Everycoachwantstheirplayerstopracticehard,butsomeplayersneverplay.Thiscan

College Athletes Getting Paid

causeaseriousinjuryduetolackofperformanceanditisverydifficultforanathletetorecover
withoutahealthplan.

Figure 2 NCAA Athletes Becoming Pro Anotherproblemthatcollege

athleteshaveisthatitisvery
difficulttogetdraftedbya
professionalteam.Onlya
smallpercentoftheathletes
isselectedbyaprofessional
team.Leavingtheunselectedathleteswithanuncertainfuture.Theuniversitycannotgivethema
scholarshipiftheyarenotplayingfortheteamandtheycannotplayalltheirlifefortheschool.
CollegeSportsAreNotProfessionalLevel
Therealsoexistspeoplewhoareagainstcollegeathletesbeingpaid.KieranMcCauley
saysthatathletesarealreadybeingrewardedwithascholarshipbytheschoolinasport.Theydo
nothavetoworryonstudentloans,books,livingoncampusormealplans.Healsomentionsthat
ifDivisionIplayersarebeingpaid,thenDivisionIIandIIIshouldalsobepaidbecausetheyput
thesameamountoftimeonpractice,traveling,andplayinggames(2016).Anothermain
argumentopposingcollegeathleteshavingasalaryisthatcollegeisaplacetostudyandobtaina
degreeforarealjobandbeinganathleteincollegesportsisnotconsideredaprofessionaljob.
Accordingtoresearch,collegestudentsarefinanciallyirresponsible,whichcancausecollege
athletestakingadvantageoftheirmoneyandfame.TheNCAAisanonprofitorganizationand
theirgoalistoprovideeducationalservicestoathletesanduniversities.Payingcollegeathletes
wouldcauseabigeconomiclossforathleticdepartmentsthatprovidesscholarships.

College Athletes Getting Paid

Conclusion and Recommendations

Despite the fact that college athletes are already being granted a full-tuition scholarship, it
has been proven that they deserve more
than that. People that buy tickets for the
games are paying to see the players
because they are the ones who make the
sport interesting and competitive, not the
coaches or the universitys president. They
are the ones who produce most of the
Figure 3. A cartoon showing a football coach
counting his money with an unpaid athelete.

profits and they deserve to receive an

amount of that money. Michael Bennett, a

Seattle Seahawks pro-athlete said, Everybody gets paid but the people making the product. In
some countries, they call that slavery (2014). This quote made a huge impact on the issue of
paying or not paying NCAA athletes. Some people have suggested college athletes having a
salary but without a scholarship, which has brought other ideas to solve this problem. One
solution that has been suggested is the Olympic Method. This method consists on paying the
athletes according to their individual efforts. They are already being benefited from their fame
and they should receive what is fair because they produce the money. This method is applied in
other competitions such as swimming, cross country, gymnastics, and other sports that are
commonly known for the Olympics. The debate of paying or not paying NCAA athletes will still
go on, and the Olympic method should be a good way to start giving support to the people who
are being affected, the students.

College Athletes Getting Paid

7
References

Anderson, D. (2015). Top 10 Reasons College Athletes Should Be Paid. Top 10 Lists |
ListLand.com. Retrieved 22 October 2016, from http://www.listland.com/top-10-reasonscollege-athletes-should-be-paid/
Cooper, K. J. (2011). Should College Athletes Be Paid to Play?. Diverse: Issues In Higher
Education, 28(10), 12-13.
McCauley, K. (2016). College athletes shouldnt be paid. Dailylocal.com. Retrieved 22 October
2016, from http://www.dailylocal.com/article/DL/20150428/SPORTS/150429826
Mitchell, H., & Edelman, M. (2013). Should College Student-Athletes Be Paid?. U.S. News
Digital Weekly, 5(52), 17.
Piasecki, M. K. (2016). Playing Between the Lines: Are College Athletes Employees?. Insights
On Law & Society, 16(3), 27-29.
Reed, K. (2015). The Huffington Post. Retrieved 22 October 2016, from
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ken-reed/solution-regarding-paying_b_8556872.html
Sander, L. (2011, October 14). An Epidemic of Injuries Plagues College Athletes. (Cover
story). Chronicle of Higher Education. pp. A1-10.