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Matthew Casalinho

12/21/21

Mrs. Ferrara

Rhetoric and Composition

Pay for Play

One of the most controversial topics in the sports world for the last few years has been

whether college athletes should be paid. There are two sides to this argument that are still

lingering around this question to this day. Students, athletes, fans and bystanders tend to lean on

this side of the argument that agrees with these student-athletes being paid to play their

respective sports. The other side of the argument is where the college institutions lay. They think

that since they receive scholarships and go to school for free they shouldn't be compensated

beyond that. I fall on this side of the college athletes and I think they should be compensated for

all that they do for these universities. Based on my research and interest in college sports, I so far

believe that it would be good for the NCAA if college athletes got paid beyond scholarships.

Most of my sources suggest plenty of benefits. It sounds like the benefits outweigh any of the

navigates. College athletes should be compensated beyond scholarships since these athletes work

just as hard and put in as much time as the working class of America, bring in revenue for the

NCAA, and have a skill that not many others have.

One reason why I strongly believe that college athletes should be compensated beyond

scholarships is because they work just as hard as the working class of America without the same

benefits. As a college student, homework is taking up a majority of my time. My days are

completely full after going to classes, doing homework and going to the gym. Now being in
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college I understand how hard it must be being a D1 college athlete to balance out your day with

team lifts, practice, homework, studying and going to class. These students basically have a full

time job in their sport while being a student. In an article from the National College Players

Association, they said “Players must schedule classes around an athletic schedule with

overwhelming time demands. NCAA surveys found that college athletes spend anywhere from

30-44hrs/week in their sport.” (NCPA Executive Director Ramogi Huma Moderates US Senator

Chris Murphy's Panel on Academic Reform - Washington, D.C. 7/25/2019). Seeing this should

be a real eye opener to everyone. To put this into perspective, a man that works a 9-5 puts in a

total of 40 hours a week. A college athlete can put up to 4 more hours per week then that, but

that's not including the amount of hours they have to put in for school. I would say I put in

around 12 hours a week into school work not including classes. Add that to the schedule of a

college athlete and now they have little to no freetime if you factor in sleep. Now how are these

players supposed to support themselves financially? Most may say, get a job. The only problem

with that from a college athletes perspective is they don't have enough time in a day to do that.

Their “job” is to play the sport they desire. Superstar running back Todd Gurley played for the

University of Georgia. He struggled financially and since he didn't have time for a job, he would

sell his autograph for cash just so he could get by. Same situation with wide receiver for the

University of Georgia AJ Green. He sold his in-game worn jersey for $1,000 to make ends meet,

which he eventually gave back to charity. Many athletes come from a poor way of living, and

their coveted scholarship was the only chance they had of getting an education. On top of that,

they are not allowed to accept any type of payment, such as a free meal from a local restaurant.

Since they don't have time to get a paying job because of everything they have to balance, they

should be compensated beyond scholarships by the NCAA.

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The second reason why I believe collegiate athletes should be paid is because they make

the NCAA billions of dollars in revenue off the name, image and likeness of their players. It's a

pretty simple argument with this one, if someone is making you money, isn't it only fair if they

get a piece of that revenue? The logical answer is yes. In an article from Best Colleges, they say

“The Department of Education reported that college athletic programs collected $14 billionin

total revenue in 2019” ( Mark J. Drozdowski, Ed.D). Let's look at an example of someone that

has been treated very unfairly by the NCAA when it comes to this topic. I am sure you have

heard of a man by the name of Johnny Manziel. He is one of if not the most famous college

athlete of all time. He played quarterback at the University of Texas A&M. Texas A&M sells his

jersey and sells seats at the stadium for people to come and watch him play football. This isn't

the only person taking money from him. The NCAA puts out a video game with him on the

cover. Jerseys sell for around seventy five dollars, tickets for around fifty, and NCAA football

games sell for sixty. This means anyone, literally anyone can make money off of Johnny

Manziel, except for Johnny Manziel. He is not the only one that has been treated unfairly by the

NCCA. Some notable players include Zion Williamson, Tim Tebow and Joe Burow.

My last reason on why I should think NCAA athletes should be compensated beyond

their scholarship is because these athletes have a talent that not many others have. For example,

think of any professional sport. Teams pay the players because they are the best at what they do

in the world. Even for doctors. The doctors with the best skills get paid more. So if you have the

rare talent that these D1 players have, you should be paid like a professional athlete. In this

article from College Vine, it states “The highest-paid college football coach—the University of

Alabama’s Nick Saban—earns $9.3 million a year and is the highest-paid public employee in the

country.” (Timothy Peck). This shows just how much college coaches are getting paid. Nick
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Saban is receiving more money than 26 NFL head coaches. If college coaches are getting paid

like professional coaches, then why aren't the athletes getting paid like the professional athletes

as well. If college athletes were paid, then the only thing keeping them from being professionals

is the label of a university. If the only thing keeping college athletes from being professionals is a

label, then college athletics wouldn’t be the way people love them now

Some people still may think that college athletes should be paid after reading this. The

Reason they may think that is because they think going to school for free and the benefits they

get are enough. They think that the NCAA does enough by giving these kids a platform to show

the world what they can do. The NCAA gave out a speina for athletes to get meals and pay rent

if they live off campus. They “usually range from a few hundred dollars to a couple thousand

dollars, depending on the location of the school.” (Alexandra Laurence | LTVN

Reporter/Anchor). In my opinion, this might be enough for meals and rent as intended, but not

enough for the hours these kids put in to make the university money along with the NCAA.

In conclusion, I believe that NCAA players should be compensated beyond scholarship

because these athletes work just as hard and put in as much time as the working class of

America, bring in revenue for the NCAA, and have a skill that not many others have.
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Work Cited

, A. L., By, -, & Laurence, A. (2021, September 1). Alexandra Laurence. The Baylor Lariat.

Retrieved December 22, 2021, from

https://baylorlariat.com/2021/08/31/student-athletes-shouldnt-be-paid-by-their-universities/

Writers, S. (2021, December 16). Should College Athletes Be Paid? BestColleges.Com.

https://www.bestcolleges.com/news/analysis/2021/09/07/should-college-athletes-be-paid/

Thomas, B. (2017, October 3). Pay for Play: Should College Athletes Be Compensated?

Bleacher Report.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/654808-pay-for-play-should-college-athletes-be-compensated

de Piccioto, E. (2021, June 6). Should College Athletes Get Paid? - The Perspective.

Theperspective.Com/. https://www.theperspective.com/debates/sports/college-athletes-get-paid/

Academics. (2019). Www.Ncpanow.Org.

https://www.ncpanow.org/solutions-and-resources/academics
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