Analysis: Why College Athletes Have To Suffer

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Why Do College Athletes Have to Suffer? College athletics and the treatment of their athletes is an ongoing topic among many people. College athletes have to maintain amateur status to be eligible to play college sports. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the governing body for college sports, states that no college athlete can receive pay of any kind for the sport they play (Amateurism). College athletics have become big business over the past few decades with millions of dollars being poured into the NCAA, universities, and colleges. With all this money coming to the NCAA and colleges we still have college athletes struggling to pay their tuition and everyday living expenses. Student athletes that do not receive a …show more content…

With the internet allowing up to date stats and scores, TV station fighting to show games, tickets sales and the selling of merchandise, there are millions of dollars being poured into the NCAA and colleges annually. Turner Broadcasting and CBS signed a 14-year $10.8 billion deal to be able to broadcast the NCAA national championship tournament (Nocera, Let’s Start Paying College Athletes). Now some colleges even have their own TV stations to broadcast games. ESPN has also signed a deal with Bowl Championship Series (BCS) for $500 million over 4 years (Wildon). College athletes are the only ones not seeing any of the billions of dollars that their efforts are bringing in. Colleges say they do not have the money to pay players, but they spend millions on coaches’ salaries each year. One example is Urban Meyer coach at Ohio State. He signed a contract for $24 million over six years (Nocera, Let’s Start Paying College Athletes). Nick Saban, Alabama football coach, is paid $7 million annually (NCAA Salaries). The NCAA and BCS are able to bring this kind of money because of the popularity of the players and how they perform for the colleges. The more popular the player is the more the NCAA and colleges use his or her name and likeness to get people to by the tickets and merchandise with their names on it. If colleges can use some of this money to pay huge amounts salaries to coaches, then turn around and say that they do not have money to pay players, there is a shortfall in the colleges and NCAA’s ability to manage