Pay College Athletes NOW The debate over whether college athletes should be paid has been an issue in the world of collegiate sports for decades. While college sports generate billions of dollars in revenue for universities and athletic associations, the athletes themselves often receive little to no benefits for their play on and off the field. This essay argues that college athletes should be paid for their dedication to collegiate sports. By examining the money the athletes make for colleges, NIL deals and why they're good, the hard work placed on student-athletes, and that these athletes barely have enough money to enjoy college, one of the primary reasons college athletes should be paid is the money that exists within collegiate sports. …show more content…
Coaches like Nick Saban, Ryan Day and Kirby Smart get paid millions of dollars, A article from Front Office Sports says that Nick Saban gets paid $11.4 million dollars in his contract. These people who are working with athletes are getting paid very good money, meanwhile these athletes can barely pay for food. Many people claim that NIL isn’t good for the world of sports, but, this is a way that many popular athletes can make money. NIL is Name, Image, and Likeness. This means athletes can be paid for those 3 things, but many athletes don't get paid for that unless you’re really good or have a cool name like “Kool Aid McKinstry" from Alabama football. Athletes who aren't playing much or very highly recruited won’t make any money. This rule only benefits well-known and good players. Many athletes who get caught trying to get money from colleges will get banned from college sports and the colleges won't have much to deal with. Before the NCAA came out with new rules, college athletes who took these deals would be in a lot of trouble like Reggie Bush who had his heisman taken away for taking money and a car from someone because he was a broke college athlete. Now it is good for many athletes who do fit the criteria I said they still don't make that much from it, now if you are a superstar for your school like Caitlin Clark you will make millions of …show more content…
Student-athletes are expected to do well in their individual sports while also trying to keep their GPA and academic careers up to par with the other non-athletes at the university. The athletes have to practice, go to meetings, travel and do everything that involves their sport, leaving very little time for them to study or get a part time job to make money. With so many things to do. In the world of college sports you hear of young athletes in college overworked to death, in the last 24 years there have been 22 athletes who have died from overexertion. Many college athletes don’t go pro, here are some statistics from Exact Sports. 1.6% of football players go pro, 1.2% go pro in men's basketball, 0.8% in women's basketball and 9.9% of baseball players go pro. Countless hours of hard work and stress isn’t worth not going pro and missing everything college has to offer. Furthermore, the time commitment required to succeed in collegiate sports often prevents student-athletes from fully engaging in other aspects of the college experience, such as study abroad programs, campus involvement. As a result, they miss out on valuable opportunities to develop skills and experiences that could benefit them in the future from doing all the school has to offer instead of doing something that won't get them paid. . Paying college athletes to acknowledge the sacrifices