Compensating College Athletes

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Should College Athletes Receive Compensation for Performing? Most people prefer college sports over professional sports simply because the athletes are more driven and have more passion for the game they love. The discussion of whether college athletes should be paid or not, has been ongoing for years now. Some believe compensating amateur athletes would take the enjoyment out of college sports, while others argue that these athletes deserve a paycheck for their tremendous amount of work and efforts on the field and courts. College athletes should not receive compensation to perform because they are students before athletes. Scholarships and recruiting have been around as early as the 1880s, when football went from a fun backyard family game, to a popular, profitable sport. Scholarships were funded by school’s fraternities, and the ultimate goal was to motivate players to take their game to the next level. Along with scholarships taking place, The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) was introduced in 1906. According to the article “History of Sports Scholarships”, the NCAA instilled rules to protect the student athlete from exploitation, meaning that the athlete shall not be paid in any way for their talent. In his ESPN article, …show more content…

What the colleges are willing to give the athletes most likely not be the amount the athlete wants. Paying athletes will create tension between the athletes and make them want to go where the most money is, rather than where they will benefit best. The smaller schools would not have the opportunity of having great players on their teams. Tensions could lead athletes to quit their sport or file a lawsuit against the school concerning their pay. College athletes have tutors they can call right away if they need help academically, or financially. They are able to be provided with those luxurious resources that non-athletes do not