College Athletes Should Be Paid

I accept the burden of proof; I am in fact arguing a positive claim against the status quo. College Athletes Should Be PaidCollege athletes work hard. They spend an average of 43.3 hours dedicated to their sport per week [1]. Not only is this 3.3 hours longer than the average American work week, but college students often work harder academically than their peers as well. Because they often travel for games, they miss class and have to rely on tutors, not professors, or teach themselves the material and pass with decent grades in order to qualify for games. At some schools, the road to the NCAA men"s basketball championship may require student-athletes to miss up to a quarter of all class days during their Spring semester [2]. Furthermore, because they must also take classes and travel, they do not realistically have time for another job. As such, many college students are very poor and struggle to make ends meet while in college [3]. College athletes receive scholarships and other benefits, but this is not fair/optimal for several reasons. First, college athletes have different skill levels. In life, we are compensated based on our value. Our monetary value is determined by how much money we generate. Our value is also determined (in sports) by our ability to help the team win. Thus better athletes are worth more and should be paid more money; not all college athletes, including those on the same team, are worth the same amount. Since athletes already receive scholarships and other benefits, they are essentially being paid. Why not determine their value like you do in the real world? On this point, paying college athletes would make the sports more competitive. Compensating players would encourage them to play harder, as the better they are, the more money they would make. Many college athletes are worth far more (based on talent and popularity) so it is not fair they are "paid" the same amount. Professional athletes are notoriously bad with money [4]. By providing college athletes pay, it teaches them fiscal responsibility. It encourages them to figure out ways to support themselves while they are still under the strict guidance of parents and more importantly coaches and mentors. Because many college athletes struggle, and are enticed by the allure of professional perks, a lot of college athletes violate the rules and receive some type of back-end compensation anyhow. Over 96 D-1 teams have been caught in the last decade alone [5]. Imagine all the ones that didn't get caught or penalized. Rather than turn a blind eye to what is rampant and justifiably so, paying college athletes and allowing them to cash in on the perks promotes honesty and up-front dealings. This is how we have accountability and ensure fairness, as opposed to having things going on behind closed doors and only penalize the ones who get caught. Consider this: college sports is very lucrative. Advertisements, sponsorships, video games and ticket sales lead to huge profits for college teams worth tens of billions of dollars [6]. Why should athletes only be paid what their tuition is worth, when coaches and other people profit off the NCAA and make millions of dollars on the backs of the athletes? [7]The athletes are the ones putting their bodies and lives on the line every single day. Indeed, football player Eric LeGrand from my alma matter, Rutgers University, suffered a devastating hit during a football game that has left him paralyzed [8]. Many college athletes suffer injury that prevents them from moving on with their college or professional athletic career. They sacrifice their bodies daily, and many suffer long-term negative effects. Over 96% of pro football players (who started in college) have some type of brain injury or deficit [9]. If they can make money while playing the sport, they should be able to while they still can. Their career can end at any day. There is plenty of money to go around. The NCAA currently produces nearly $11 Billion in annual revenue from college sports " more than the estimated total league revenues of both the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League [10]. The NCAA is a multi-billion dollar business where the only people who are restricted in their earnings, are the athletes. That is not fair. "This year, the University of Alabama reported $143.3 Million in athletic revenues " more than all 30 NHL teams and 25 of the 30 NBA teams. Much of the huge revenues collected from college athletics do not go directly back into the classroom. Instead, a substantial share of college sports" revenues stay "in the hands of a select few administrators, athletic directors, and coaches" [11]. Success in college sports improves the school's notoriety, brand recognition and thus application rates. In turn this increases the caliber of admitted students at certain universities. For example, how many people on the East coast would know about Gonzaga if not for their popular athletics program? Athletes contribute to their schools and deserve to be paid for it. College sports are a huge park of many college's marketing and promotion [12]. It seems exploitative to use the athletes and compensate them so little compared to the value they bring in. In the end, there are really no solid arguments as to why college athletes shouldn't be paid. I look forward to hearing my opponents contentions, and explaining how college athletes can be paid. They should be. [1] . http://tinyurl.com...[2] . http://www.forbes.com...[3] . http://www.providencejournal.com...[4] . http://www.investopedia.com...[5] . https://www.insidehighered.com...[6] . http://finance.zacks.com...[7] . http://sports.usatoday.com...[8] . http://www.nj.com...[9] . http://www.theatlantic.com...[10] . http://papers.ssrn.com...[11] . http://tinyurl.com...[12] . https://colleges.niche.com...