On average division one athletic programs lose an average of 11 million dollars every year.(NCAA.org) With the 460,000 college athletes(NCAA.org) to monetarily compensate for their time athletic programs.College athletes should not get paid. College athletes should focus on getting a degree, forming unions, and negotiate benefits.
If players start to get paid for playing in college athletics the sport will no longer be considered amateur. The National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) has already changed their definition of amateur over the years to accommodate scholarships but since the creation of the NCAA in 1905 it has been a priority to maintain the amateur aspect of the game.But as the march madness tournament get larger every year
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Though providing education to so many athletes, “Only half of football and men's basketball players graduate.”(8 Reasons College Athletes Need a Union.) Not graduating can be because of just simply not having enough credits and not having any more eligible playing time are forced to leave college. Along with marketing themselves players should be able to establish players unions and negotiate for player benefits such as health insurance, dental insurance, and liability insurance in case of career ending injury that they be able to finish their college education on their current scholarship. “The costs of a sports-related injury are not covered by the college: The NCAA doesn't require schools to cover the costs that athletes incur when they are injured in relation to their sport. These injuries have left players with debts that can exceed $10,000, with many of those injuries reducing a player's ability to earn money to pay for those costs.”(8 Reasons College Athletes Need a Union.) Players everyday lose their shot of gaining an education because they no longer can perform, with a players union scholarships can be negotiated that if a player is injured they still get to earn their education. If education is the purpose of college the NCAA should have no problem providing education to all of their athletes even after they are injured. And when they are injured the NCAA should be held responsible for the injuries incred from the time played in college athletics. Students are being punished for playing in college being forced to cover their medical cost and the cost of their college if losing the scholarship due to their sports related injuries. Unions would also evolve the sport to the next level. Allowing players to be more involved in how the game functions and the fine details of the game will allow both players coaches and NCAA officials to