Analysis: Why College Athletes Should Be Paid

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In 2011-2012 alone the NCAA made $871.6 million (Slobodzian). The money that is being raked in by the NCAA is made because of student-athlete’s untiring work. Surprisingly, the student-athletes don’t receive any of that money because they have to sign a contract that states that they can’t take any compensation while they play collegiate sports. It has been a heated debate for years and neither side is willing to budge on their stance. Student-athletes in college should be compensated because they make the school a plethora of money and playing a sport is like a full-time job.

First of all, student-athletes deserve the money that they bring in through their persistent work and dedication to their sport. On the one hand, some argue that collegiate …show more content…

On the other hand, however, others argue that college athletes shouldn’t receive compensation because they will make irresponsible decisions with it. Lemmons displays his doubts about how much of a success paying collegiate athletes would be. He claims that college students don’t know how to manage money. “Colin Cowherd states, “I don’t think paying all college athletes is great; not every college is loaded, and most 19-year-olds (are) gonna spend it—and let’s be honest, they’re gonna spend it on weed and kicks!”’(Lemmons). Lemmons, as a former collegiate athlete, knows how trying it is to be a “student-athlete”.However, his argument that college kids will spend their money on things they don’t need is invalid because they have a choice to do what they want with their money. The bottom line is that they deserve to be compensated for their demanding work. Additionally, many college-athletes come from less fortunate families who could really put that money to good use. “Student-athletes” should be paid to play sports because they put in a lot of time and work constantly to be able to play at such a high level.Paying players would also pro level players to stay in college longer because they can still support their families while completing their