One of the most important problems with paying student-athletes is scholarships. If student-athletes begin to be paid, what would happen to their scholarships? The average Division 1 scholarship is around $35,000. Multiply that by four along with some other expenses, we are looking at well over $100,000 per person who is attending college on a full scholarship whether it is athletic or academic. Scholarships are the number one goal for a high school athlete, but now it seems as if getting to go to college for free is not enough. Out of the 7 million high school athletes competing for a scholarship only 140,000 actually receive one. Additionally, with the scholarship in place, the school only pays for scholastic-based items like tuition, books, etc. What if the person originated from a low income family? People still have to have money to buy supplies, food, clothes, …show more content…
Also, you must consider the endless amount of benefits a college athlete gets, such as a meal plan, discounts, free tuition, and the ability to have first choice of the classes they want to take. The question is, if college athletes would be willing to give up their scholarships, and be on wage instead? Players on average spend around 43.3 hours per week devoted to their sport; three hours longer than the average workweek. Plus, the athletic ability of a school can influence the academic caliber as well as affect the number of applications. When Doug Flutie won the Heisman trophy, school admissions increased by 25% and caused the average SAT to increase by 110 points (Edelman). With this kind of influence, they should be paid, right? Not necessarily, the point of college is to get an education. In addition, the majority of college sports teams fail to create a profit from their sports. Football and basketball are usually the only two that consistently provide revenue to make up for the less popular sports. With the more popularized athletics bringing in money, the coaches