Should Colleges Pay Their Athletes?

Over the past few decades, college athletic has become more popular among Americans. This helps National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to earn millions of dollars annually and now there is a debate about whether college athletes should get compensations beyond their scholarships. The National Labor Relations Board of Chicago defines an employee as “A person who has signed a contract to perform agreed service for another employer is in control and gets payment in return” ( Ghale). According to these standards the players may be considered employees based on their time and effort.

However, college sports are not all about money.. It is a privilege for anyone to get this opportunity, let alone the scholarship. This is one of the highest levels any athlete would dream to compete in, therefore, it should not be taken for granted. The College athlete should realize that it is a privilege to get that special opportunity that most of their teammates won’t be able to obtain.

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According to the NCCA approximately 2% of high school sportsmen are given a chance to compete for college athletes. With that slight chance that the athlete makes it to a college sport, they should give the game their all because that is what they love. The game is not a duty or an hourly job, but if college athletes are paid this is what it would mean. The dedication and passion of the game would be lost. The kids will stop trying as hard. Most people play college sports to try to make it the pros and get that big paycheck.

The point of a college sport is about fulfilling their dreams. The players should be proud and passionate about how winning a game will bring gratification. They should do it for the completion it brings. It is about the sacrifices an individual makes for his or her teammates he/she has trained with and for the name of the school. It is a chance for the athlete to play the sport they are passionate about for another four years.

Also, it is a privilege rather than a job. College athletes are not professional. This is because in college a person has access to education through participation in sport where they earn the scholarship to pay tuition and other expenses. The collegiate-level athletes get higher education in colleges and universities that most high school kids would not afford. Before they start demanding to be paid, the athlete already has crazy benefits. The athletic scholarships are enough to cover all the expenses a student will require for a period of four years including tuition, books, medical care, and meals. Most universities charges between 30,000 and 50,000 per year. In other words, each student is reimbursed for the amount of money an average American would make annually.

An additional college degree allows a student to earn more money that one would make with an ordinary high school diploma whether the student gets a professional job or not. Lots of players in college basketball are being “ One and Dones” as they are just playing one year of college basketball and leaving for the NBA draft, without getting a college degree. That is a risk as what do they do if the pros don't work out for the biggest problem will be if the NCAA does decide to pay athletes, how are they going to make it fair for the teams that don’t make as much money. How is the NCAA going to evenly tell teams how much they need to pay as some smaller school teams don’t even make five million dollars. Then you have “25 teams making above 25 million”( business insider) for one sport this would make a difference between bigger and smaller university athletic teams. A bigger university has more revenue, therefore, it can be able to obtain the best player making it like a year-long free agency. So all the teams in the power five ACC, B1G TEN, SEC, PAC 12, and the BIG 12 conferences will be too good as they get the most money per Games. As Said on ( The business insider, a sports network) “ The top 25 teams that make the most money 22 of the teams are in the power five conferences.

Nine of the teams in the Big Ten Conference, Six of them are in the ACC, four of the teams are in the SEC, two are in the Big 12, and 1 team is in the past 12. As with all that money, they can give players bigger contracts and the other conferences and teams won't have a chance to compete making games A lot less exciting. The National Labor Relations Board of Chicago defines an employee as “A person who has signed a contract to perform agreed service for another employer is in control and gets payment in return” ( Ghale) with this quote in mind isn’t the NCAA a platform so the Athletes name gets out to pro scouts causing their draft stock to go up and get the athlete more money. College athletes should not be paid as it will make the game unfair and just a giant free agency. Will college kids be able to handle so much money responsibly. Last the privilege the kids get to have as they get a free education worth so much money. If the college Athlete does still want money there is an option as the athlete can go play overseas. As stated by runnersworld.com” Only 18% of athletes that are pro come from overseas” If college athletes want money so bad, why don't they just go overseas and make 4-10 thousand dollars ( Washington post) a year and risk their draft stock as they play against weaker opponents.