Research: College Athletes Should Be Paid

College Athletes Should be Paid Working all day every week and never being paid is a nightmare to all. Who would appreciate breaking their backs and never reaping the reward for their hard work? Well college athletes do this day in and day out. Starting around their sophomore year in high school students start the long recruiting process, so that they will be on the scene when their senior year rolls around. They may travel hundreds of miles to play in front of college coaches and staff. However, what may come after is not worth what they go through to get there. Cam Newton and Chris Webber are prime examples of hard-working athletes that were accused of being paid for their services. In Webber’s case, the banner that he helped hang was taken

Personal letters result in opportunities” (Clark and Clark xii). When choosing an applicant for the job, a resume and experience are key factors in deciding the right fit. So it is with college coaches. They work hard to obtain the best and brightest prospects. So would the prospects not be the job applicant? From the start of their high school careers, the players minds are geared towards signing to the Division I level. Many believe that if professionalism and contracts are brought into college sports then it would corrupt the amateur competition (Furth). However, the Division I level is not an amateur league. In a civil suit to have athletes paid, the 9th Circuit Court ruled that student athletes at Northwestern University would be paid $5,000 per year exceeding the cost of tuition within their athletic scholarships. This ruling stood for only a few months. “The NCAA can bar from paying part of all marketing sales due to the appeal of amateur competition” (Martelle). This again brings up the point that the NCAA is not an amateur league. Compare the NFL to NCAA college football. The Detroit Lions’ (NFL) Ford Field holds 65,000 total. The Tennessee Vols’ (NCAA) Neyland Stadium hold 102,455. Fans pay on average about $99 per ticket per game, if a season ticket holder, for Detroit Lions. Fans of the Volunteers who decide to become

81% of all revenue generated comes from television and marketing rights. In order to have people watch the games that are televised, these players have to give the audience a reason to watch. Now this brings back the point of doing the work but not reaping the reward. The NCAA has a 14 year contract with CBS to televise all NCAA tournament games. This contract is worth $10.8 billion (“Revenue”). If the athletes were paid equal shares of 1% this would leave over 9 billion dollars to the NCAA directly. This would settle disputes of favoritism and allow the bench warmer to earn the same pay as the 5-star recruit. College sports is a multi-billion dollar industry being ran by the the play of the hardworking athletes. These students have to sign a contract at the end of their high school careers stating the standards and guidelines they must follow to uphold their scholarship. We are asking these students to take on a professional role before they graduate high school. So should they not be paid accordingly? These athletes deserve to be paid for the blood and sweat they put in to make it to the next level. By taking a stand together for the pay of the student-athletes the future of college sports is