Analysis: Should College Athletes Be Paid

Should college athletes be paid for playing in their sport? There is an argument to be made on both sides of the issue surrounding their compensation. While some people believe that college athletes should be paid extra for their time in their sport. Others believe that they already receive enough compensation through their scholarships they were given. This discussion has been going on for a very long time, and many past college athletes have argued the same argument. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) gets a very large paycheck from the very athletes that play for them, and to think that those athletes don’t even see a dime of extra pay from the NCAA. In the NCAA’s defense, they do offer and give the athletes’ their scholarship

In John Brill’s article he even states, “The athletes cannot get the same value out of the education because of the already intense time commitment to the sport that has given them the opportunity to be in school.” (Brill 1). Which brings me to my next point, and that is that the quality of these students “education and degree” is not fully focused because they have such a big commitment to their sport. So if the education is their payment, isn’t it supposed to pay off in the long run? The truth is that a bachelor’s degree, which most athletes exit with, has a decreasing value in the workforce nowadays. Was the degree worth the athletes time? Brills also stated, “It cannot be assumed that the degree is worth the athletes time. Especially considering that the time spent in college could be a player losing money available by playing in the professional leagues.” (Brill 1). So college athletes should be paid so after they are done with their 4 year sport; they can pursue a better degree in their field of

It is a fact that a paid athlete is less likely to accept bribes and/or gamble to make a financial gain. In the NCAA rulebook there is a rule that prohibits athletes from sharing legally, but some do it even illegally. In Brian Porto’s article, he conducted a survey in 1989 of professional football players. Porto stated, “In a 1989 survey of professional football players, 31 percent of the respondents admitted to having accepted illegal payments during their college careers, and 48 percent of the respondents said that they knew of other athletes who took such payments during college.” (Porto 1). Porto also found that a recent study of the University of Michigan, it was not uncommon for football and basketball players to try and exploit their athletic status for financial gain through gambling. Porto also stated, “In January of 1999, U.S.A. Today reported the results of the Michigan study, which revealed that more than 5 percent of college football and men’s basketball players have… given inside information about their teams to gamblers… .” (Porto 1). Therefore by giving information to gamblers, they could also get them to place money down for the player, and the player could walk away with some