In 2015, NCAA division 1 programs generated $9.15 billion of revenue with athletics according to Business Insider, with the athletes not benefiting from that like they should be. I am from Plymouth MN at Wayzata high school and an avid college sports fan. I believe that the collegiate athletes, who are the ones generating revenue for the huge benefits of others, is wrong. The payout should be a percentage of revenue generated because certain sports generate more than others. College athletes should be paid like everyone else in the industry and reap the rewards that the media and NCAA employees are getting over the athletes. There are two collegiate sports that are ahead of the other sports in revenue generated and that is basketball and football. The athletes playing division 1 and especially in the top programs are generating as much and sometimes even more money than their professional counterparts. In 2017 the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament alone generated over $1 billion in revenue from media rights fees, ticket sales, corporate …show more content…
The athletes do get an education with a little money for food and other expenses to play at the high level they play at. Most top division 1 athletes in football and basketball do not want to go college but that is the only way to get to the next level. In 2017, of the 253 players drafted to the NFL, 251 were playing in the NCAA in 2016 and 44 of the 60 drafted to the NBA played college in 2016. Over half of the draftees in basketball were underclassmen who did not graduate from college. When picking a school to play for, academics are at the bottom of the priority list for a lot of athletes which you may not think is right but that is what is happening. The NCAA also has their athletes missing school days to compete in tournaments that generate more revenue. There are ways to make this happen for these athletes deserving