College Athletes Deserve To Be Paid

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College athletes put in a lot of time, effort, and work into the sport they’ve played since they were young, but they aren’t getting paid for it. These student athletes deserve to be paid because they put in countless hours of hard work and balance sports with school work. The first reason athletes in college do deserve to be compensated is because they don 't have time to fit in work with a school and athletic schedule. College athletes don’t have time to get a real job. Student athletes have a very busy schedule, they don’t have time to fit in a job. Sports and school take up almost all of their free time. The extra time they have is used for things like sports conditioning at a gym or studying. “The typical Division I college football player …show more content…

“College athletes don’t have to worry about student loans, paying for textbooks, the cost of on-campus living, and meal plans” (McCauley). These student athletes are still going to college, hence the name college athletes. They are not professionals, and this is not the big leagues. A scholarship can take care of a big portion of the cost to go to college. Even if it doesn’t cover the whole cost, they are still paying a lot less than a regular student going to college. On top of a scholarship, student athletes are also provided with many free things such as game tickets, apparel and equipment. Although scholarships take off a lot of the cost to go to college, they aren’t enough on their own. Most scholarships are not full ride and students are left to pay some school fines. Student athletes need an income to help pay the extra money they owe that the scholarship doesn’t pay for, and also so that they have some money when they come out of college. Paying college athletes is a way to encourage students to play sports. Colleges willing to pay for their players could attract talented athletes. Students may want to go out for a sport if they know they will be paid, which could also bring talent to the field or court. With new talent, teams could win more and earn more recognition. This would benefit the players, coach and …show more content…

College athletes deserve to be paid because they are the only ones not being paid in the college sports industry. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) generates eleven billion dollars annually, some of which could, and should go to college athletes. “USA Today reported last year just how much money the top 10 coaches in college football made. Nick Saban from Alabama topped the list earning roughly $5.5 million in 2013 alone” (Seibold). The coaches are making millions of dollars and the players aren’t. “The highest paid public employee in 40 of the 50 U.S. states is the state university 's head football or basketball coach” (Mitchell & Edelman). These coaches earn so much money and they do put in a lot of work for their teams, but they are not the ones doing the real work. The athletes are the ones out on the field or court playing the game, which is why the players need to be paid as