College football players should receive a form of payment for what they do.

My opponent makes two arguments in favor of the resolution: 1. Due to how much time is required to play college football in the off season as well as the regular season, players do not have time to work. 2. The university makes money off athletes; therefore, a percentage of that should go to the players. First, nobody forces a college football player to make the decision to join a team. If the team has certain time requirements, the player is therefore put in the position to choose the team or choose a job. Indeed people are put in these kinds of predicaments every day of their lives. Music lovers would love to sit home and jam in their garage all day; however, most have made the decision to get a "real job" instead and just keep music as a hobby in their spare time, considering it didn't pay the bills. Of course with enough practice, luck and talent music could pay the bills one day, much like a professional football career can. However in the interim, college football players are no more eligible to receive the benefit of doing something they love and getting paid for it "just because. " Now, it's true that people pay money to watch college players perform; however, Pro is seriously undermining the amount of compensation football players receive because of that. Primarily, as Pro mentioned football players do receive a free education. In other words, they are already being blatantly compensated with thousands of dollars. Moreover they get free room and board, and in almost every single case a dining hall card and other ways to eat for free. Moreover (what Pro failed to mention), football players are given uniforms, have their coaches and staff paid for, have stadiums built and upkept, get to travel for free, get to stay in hotels for free, get access to top notch medical facilities and doctors, are given the opportunity to prepare for a career in the NFL, get free tutoring, get special access and permission in their classes, get a lot of gear and equipment necessary for game play paid for, etc. All of that costs thousands upon thousands of dollars. In other words, football players most certainly are being compensated -- just not in a traditional way. Instead, they're getting a lot of other things for "free. " Furthermore, this resolution pertains to college football players in particular though there are innumerable other sports teams that require the same amount of time and dedication. Basketball, baseball and soccer are several examples. Additionally, what about the other students who dedicate a lot of time to university causes? Should the players of EVERY college sports team be compensated? If so, how much? It seems a college football player is already living far beyond the means of your average college student. Finally, for college players to get paid would mean other things, like programs or salaries, would have to be cut. Either that or tuition would be raised for ALL students - even the ones who don't care about football. A few years ago, I was livid when my school (Rutgers University) chose to invest in a football stadium expansion costing upward of $100 million [1]. Of course tuition hikes came at around the same time. This is blatantly unfair, and equivalent to theft -- taking money from the students to pay college players they may never watch. It also impedes on the amount schools can invest in other projects. In short, it's selfish and unnecessary. Thanks again for beginning this debate, Pro. Back to you and good luck! [1] . http://en.wikipedia.org...