Quinn Beyer

ENW 100

Professor Ferrara

12/16/19

Should College Athletes be Paid?

Professional athletes have been paid for as long as professional sports have been around.

And they have been generating the money by playing the sport they love, and others pay to

watch. But college sports are growing tremendously and are generating nearly as much money as

professional sports, yet the players who make it possible for all that money to be generated are

given nothing. Although paying college athletes could take the students priorities off of school,

or it could take their mind off of the sport they are playing, but paying college athletes could help

the athlete learn to be responsible with money, help families who are in a financial struggle, and

could persuade players to stay at college longer.

There are many reasons as to why college athletes shouldn’t be paid. College athletes are

technically still considered amateurs, and you cannot pay amateurs. And going to a great college

on a scholarship has its benefits, “Start with four years of tuition, fees, room and board that total

$80,208 for in-state students and $180,536 for those from outside North Carolina. Add the

benefit of a diploma from a top institution with an influential and passionate alumni network.

UNC is nationally ranked the No. 5 public university and the No. 30 college overall. The name

‘North Carolina’ on LinkedIn or a resume opens doors and gets phone calls returned — and
that’s without including ‘2017 NCAA champion (Spears 1).” There is no need to pay college

athletes because they are given a free education, a place to live for free, and a diploma from a

great school that will help them get a job in the future. But paying College athletes also has its

benefits, and it is also necessary for the athletes to be paid because they have basically no free

time to make any money. “According to a 2011 NCAA Survey, many students average 30 hours

of practice a week, while some spend over 40. When you combine that amount of time with the

time spent in classes and the time spent doing homework, it’s practically impossible for them to

find time to work a part time job to earn some spending money (Brooks 2).” Being a student-

athlete is a full-time job with not a lot of free time, so the players have no time to get a job to

earn any money for themselves. So, they should be paid for their play.

College athletes should not be paid for several reasons, and here they are. There are a lot

of perks that come with playing a Division 1 sport, and players do not need to be compensated

for they play. Another reason for why they shouldn’t be paid is the fact that “College football, as

well as men’s and women’s basketball, are the money makers as far as collegiate athletics is

concerned. Most other programs actually lose money. Many athletic departments across the

country use some of the proceeds from the football and basketball programs to subsidize the

other athletics programs on campus (Patterson 1).” Certain college sports are far more popular

than some other sports and sports like men’s football, and basketball generate far more money

than sports like soccer, or the women’s sports. So, pay wouldn’t be fair to sports that don’t get as

much attentions. Popular Television networks pay tremendous amounts of money to broadcast

certain college events, like March Madness, "TNT and TBS are paying a combined $800 million

a year to broadcast March Madness, and the players that make the tournament possible don't see
any of that money(Patterson 2).” The athletes are generating so much money because of the sport

that they play but they can’t make a dime off of it, without them TV stations like TNT and TBS

wouldn’t make as much money, yet the players are given nothing. It’s time to do the right thing,

and pay the players, they deserve it.

College athletes have never been paid, and it should stay that way. There really is o

reason for them to be paid, they go to school for free, there are provided with a great education

and a place to live, and food to eat. “Although students would still be required to meet academic

standards to qualify for academic programs, paying athletes for sports participation would likely

shift personal priorities.”(Engle1) If college athletes were paid, they wouldn’t focus on school

nearly as much, all they would focus on is the sport they are playing and making money which

could negatively affect them. Another reason as to why they should be paid is that “College

sports like football and basketball are undeniably star-studded. However, recent years have seen

more and more athletes seek alternative paths on their way to the pros. This is particularly true in

men’s basketball. Players like Emmanuel Mudiay, Brandon Jennings, Josh Huestis and Anfernee

Simons have all made… decisions to skip a perfunctory year of college and instead either train

exclusively for the NBA Draft or play professionally abroad.”(Martinez 1) If college athletes

were paid more players might decide to go to college instead of playing overseas, or they might

stay at college longer because they will be able to make money and be able to support their

family while getting a degree and being able to graduate. Paying college athletes has both a good

side and a bad side, we just have to explore our options to make a correct decision about the

matter.
 While there are some bad affects to paying college athletes to good outweigh them,

College athletes generate so many good things for the school they play for any they generate so

much money, and they deserve to be paid. College athletes spend so much time being dedicated

to the sport they play and help the school benefit and profit off of them, but they aren’t given

anything to reward them for their achievements, and they should be able to support their family

who have made so many sacrifices for the. “These coaches are making millions coaching players

whose families live below the poverty line. They're propelling a billion-dollar industry, getting a

sweat suit for it.” (Goldman 1) Playing sports isn’t cheap, and having to pay for that on top of

other things can cause problems for families, players should be paid to support their families who

have sacrificed so much to help the be able to play a college sport, and attend college. College

athletes deserve to be for all they do for the school they attend, and all the revenue they generate,

and for all of the hard work and dedication they put toward the sport they play.

There are too many good reasons as to why college athletes should get paid, and it is far

past the time we change the rule. College athletes spend nearly the same amount of time as

professionals on their sport but their given nothing, while the pros are given million-dollar

contracts. If we payed college athletes, they might want to stay in school and graduate and earn a

degree instead of just going so they’ll be able to play professionally. “College sports like football

and basketball are undeniably star-studded. However, recent years have seen more and more

athletes seek alternative paths on their way to the pros. This is particularly true in men’s

basketball. Players like Emmanuel Mudiay, Brandon Jennings, Josh Huestis and Anfernee

Simons have all made… decisions to skip a perfunctory year of college and instead either train

exclusively for the NBA Draft or play professionally abroad.”(Patterson 1) If basketball doesn’t
work out the players need another way to be able to get a job and make money, and with them

only being focused on sports they completely forget about school and are only concerned about

going pro and making money. If players were payed, they wouldn’t only be concerned about the

sport they played but rather schools as well.

Paying college athletes could take the students priorities off of things like school, or it

could take their mind off of the sport they are playing, but paying college athletes could help the

athlete learn to be responsible with money, help families who are in a financial struggle, and

could persuade players to stay at college longer and earn a degree. The argument of whether

College Athletes should be paid has been going on for years, a lot play into the decision and all

sides need to be looked at carefully before making a decision. Whatever the decision, I think that

they should be paid for their play, because they do so much good for the school, and they

generate tons of money, they deserve it.

 Works Cited

Ayres, Crystal. “12 Primary Pros and Cons of Paying College Athletes.” Green Garage, 19 Aug.
2015, greengarageblog.org/12-primary-pros-and-cons-of-paying-college-athletes.

“College Athletes Deserve to Be Paid for Their Play.” The Triangle, 1 June 2018,
www.thetriangle.org/opinion/college-athletes-deserve-to-be-paid-for-their-play/.

Engle, Jeremy. “Should College Athletes Be Paid?” The New York Times, The New York Times,
26 Feb. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/02/26/learning/should-college-athletes-be-
paid.html.

Goldman, Tom. “Ruling On Pay Cap Could Bring 'Watershed Moment' For College Sports.”
NPR, NPR, 29 Dec. 2018, www.npr.org/2018/12/29/680882534/ruling-on-pay-cap-could-
bring-watershed-moment-for-college-sports.

Jessewashington. “Big-Time College Athletes Should Be Paid with Big-Time Educations.” The
Undefeated, The Undefeated, 7 Apr. 2017, theundefeated.com/features/big-time-college-
athletes-should-be-paid-with-big-time-educations/.

Martinez, Madisen. “Should College Student-Athletes Be Paid? Both Sides of the Debate.”
CollegeXpress, www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/athletics/blog/should-college-
student-athletes-be-paid-both-sides-debate/.

Patterson, Tiffany, and Tiffany Patterson. “Should College Athletes Be Paid?” SmartAsset,
SmartAsset, 23 Apr. 2019, smartasset.com/retirement/should-student-athletes-be-paid.