Yes, they're professionals. MSU's surging win over Syracuse Thursday makes the point. And yes, they're exploited. Here's the case. The network expects to make money on the investment.
Tickets are expensive.
Coaches are paid well. College sports salaries are unregulated, except for the players who make the games happen. College ball is only marginally linked to academics, the reason we have universities in the first place. Basically, a money-soaked college sports system uses students as a source of cheap labor. Ford Motor Co. wishes it had such a deal.