Brockman 1

MacKenzie Brockman

Lisa Cook

English 1101.537

4 December 2020

Argument Essay

It comes to no surprise to many, but college athletics has become a multi-million-dollar

industry (Thomas). From March Madness to the never-ending amount of football bowl games,

college sports have been come such a huge part of entertainment that lifestyles are dedicated to

these teams; “OH-IO” sound familiar? These colleges make millions of dollars each year on each

of the three big sports, men and women’s basketball and football. With all this money, the

athletes must reap some of the profits, right? In fact, according to the National Collegiate

Athletic Association (NCAA), student athletes must maintain an amateur status. So, what does

this mean for the athletes? This means that while the colleges that they are playing for are

making millions of dollars, they do not see a penny of it. While amateur status is important to the

NCAA, student athletes should be able to receive some compensation for their talents.

College athletes are not professional athletes, yet they are put through the same rigor of

any professional athlete, all while attending school at the same time. And with this dedication

comes the risk of injury. For many college athletes, a hope of a professional career is their only

option. Many come from poor families that would not be able to pay for college any other way,

especially college as prestigious as The Ohio State University, Duke. Notre Dame, and Alabama.

When a college athlete is offered a full-tuition scholarship to play football or basketball, they are

not thinking of the education they are going to receive, they are thinking of the chance to be

drafted into the NFL or NBA. Many of these college athletes hope to make it to the professional
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level because of incredible pressure to provide for their families (Lemmons). Time and time

again, there are stories of athletes that make it to the big leagues and the first person they thank

are their parents, who supported then with little to no money, working multiple jobs, just to be

able to give their child a chance to play in college. This is a very common theme in college

athletics. While college athletes dream of playing sports professionally, all of this could come to

a screeching halt with one play. A torn ACL, concussion, or broken bone could cost this athlete

the chance at everything, leaving them with nothing to fall back on. With their chances of

making it into the NFL or NBA dashed, there goes their chance to support their family.

Some may argue that an injury from football may have had no baring on the athlete’s

future; who is to say that they would have made it to the pros? CTE or Chronic traumatic

encephalopathy can have affects on an athlete years after they stop playing. CTE causes mood

changes, headaches, and memory loss and this does not go away when the athletes stop playing.

There was a study conducted by Boston University in 2019 on deceased football players. They

studied 266 football players and of them, 223 had CTE and 43 did not. They found that the risk

of CTE increases by 30 percent every year of tackle football and doubles every 2.6 years after.

This goes to show that just because an athlete may not make it to the pros, does not mean they

aren’t affecting the rest of their lives.

College athletes many times must play a minimum amount of time in for the NCAA

before they are eligible for the NFL or NBA. As soon as they have the chance to be drafted, they

many times take it, since there is no money guaranteed to them until they are drafted and signed

to a contract. Why would an athlete waste previous talent and time on a team that does nothing to

advance his career, yet with each play, increases his chance of injury? They want to get out of

the NCAA as soon as they can. There is not reason for them to stay.
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Athletes are also not allowed endorsements from companies, such as Nike or Adidas

while they play in college. While payments from colleges may negate their amateur status, being

paid because they are recognized as a celebrity should have not baring on their status. If these

athletes are not able to be paid for their actual pay, then they should be able to make money in

other ways. For example, a player cannot sell his or her own autographs, yet if someone askes

them to sign a hat, that person is able to go sell it on EBAY and make a profit from it.

While there are arguments supporting college athletes being compensated, there are valid

arguments against it. One of the most important is where would this money come from? Yes,

these colleges make millions from these players, but it also cost millions to keep up a sports

program worth attending. There is a reason why smaller colleges have athletes that almost no one

has heard of, they do not have the financial backing to pay for the gyms, trainers, and coaches.

No coach is going to go to a school that pays him less than a third than what he could make at

any of the big-name schools. Alabama’s head coach for their football team made $8.7 million in

2019 (Martin). There is no way a school with any smaller of a budget than Alabama could pay

him that, nor would be accept less.

Another argument is that it would take the competition out of the game. Instead of the

fight and the drive that college athletes have to get to the next level, if they are already paid, they

would not have that carrot dangling on a string in front of them.

There are both reasons for college athletes to be compensated and to not be. After

reviewing many different scenarios and options, I believe that compensation is the best

alternative. Especially everyone from the college, to companies, to fans can make money off

college athletes, besides the players themselves. Compensation can come in many forms. It does

not have to be a direct cash payment from the college. Instead it could be in the form of
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endorsements from companies. Either way, college athletes risk their talent and livelihood to

play for a school that would simply toss them aside with no assurance of financial security if

they were to lose it all. Athletes should at least have the option to receive compensation for their

talents.
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Works Cited

Concussion Legacy Foundation. “What Is CTE?” Concussion Legacy Foundation, 11 Aug. 2020,

concussionfoundation.org/CTE-resources/what-is-CTE.

Lemmons, Malcolm. “College Athletes Getting Paid? Here Are Some Pros And Cons.” HuffPost,

HuffPost, 29 Mar. 2017, www.huffpost.com/entry/college-athletes-getting-paid-here-are-

some-pros-cons_b_58cfcee0e4b07112b6472f9a. 

Martin, Tyler. “Nick Saban Is College Football's Highest-Paid Coach.” SI.com, Bama Central, 14

Oct. 2020, www.si.com/college/alabama/bamacentral/nick-saban-is-college-footballs-

highest-paid-coach.

Rice, Bill. “The Myth of the 'Exploited' Athlete.” American Thinker, 16 Oct. 2019,

www.americanthinker.com/articles/2019/10/the_myth_of_the_exploited_athlete.html.

Ross, Theodore. “Cracking the Cartel.” The New Republic, 2015, pp. 44–51.

Thomas, Brennan. “Pay for Play: Should College Athletes Be Compensated?” Bleacher Report,

Bleacher Report, 3 Oct. 2017, bleacherreport.com/articles/654808-pay-for-play-should-

college-athletes-be-compensated.

Witz, Billy. “N.C.A.A. Outlines Plan to Let Athletes Make Endorsement Deals.” The New York

Times, 29 Apr. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/04/29/sports/ncaabasketball/ncaa-athlete-

endorsements.html.
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