College Athletes Should be Paid to Play - Essay Example

College Athletes Should be Paid to Play College athletes are at a severe financial disadvantage compared to other students and therefore should be paid at least a stipend by the university. Students not involved in sports are able to obtain part-time employment in order to purchase necessary peripheral items such as toiletries, clothing, school related incidentals and perhaps a pizza on the weekend. Some argue that athletes are paid by virtue of their scholarship and that is sufficient reimbursement for their services. Putting aside for the moment that athletes that participate in the more popular sports earn millions of dollars for the university and that other students reap these benefits as well, athletes are denied the same lack of restrictions to earn while they learn and as a result should be somewhat compensated. The NCAA alone makes hundreds of millions of dollars every year from the men’s March basketball tournament. The bowl games that follow the regular football season supply the conferences with revenues of many million each winter. Now add up ticket and concession proceeds, corporate sponsorships and money gained from merchandise sales that without the presence of sports would not be funneled into a university annually. The athletes know that they generate literally many billions of dollars for their schools, yet are not allowed to earn even pocket change while at school, giving their all for ‘ole State U. Athletes are allowed only the most meager of an existence under NCAA regulations. Meanwhile, they witness other students with money enough at least for an occasional date and their coach earning a multi-million dollar salary but know that they are the ones that make the greatest sacrifices. The NCAA reports that of the 1000 schools in its membership, only 40 earn a profit each year, all of which are Division I-A institutions and have either a successful football or basketball program. Though revenues continue to rise for these select schools; the remaining schools are suffering growing deficits. In most cases, schools utilize money gained from its more successful and thus profitable sports programs to fund the other sports activities at the school such as the bulk of women’s athletic programs. The vast majority of schools could not afford to pay for programs that did not pay for themselves if not for the athletes that put ‘butts in seats.’ These athletes are producing enormous revenues that not only pay for other sports programs but pump money into the general scholarship fund. Athletes should be compensated at least minimally but not just athletes that are involved in revenue producing sports. All college athletes should receive a modest salary because all of them allocate so much of their time to their particular sport. Even the non-profitable sports programs provide publicity to the institutions in amounts impossible to quantify. “There are also student-athletes who have to leave school early because they do not have enough money to continue, or to pay their bills and leaving school for a career in professional sports is an easy way of making money.  The argument is that if student-athletes get paid, they will remain in school and complete their education” (Meshefejian, 2005). When a student-athlete or their family is experiencing financial problems as is the case in many situations, the pressure to quit school and pursue a professional career is immense. What would motivate an athlete in this predicament to stay and finish school if they were offered even a minor league contract or a backup role at the major league level? Many examples exist where athletes opt to turn professional, then are out of a job within a year or two and cannot return to school because they can no longer be offered a scholarship. If they could have justified, financially speaking, staying in school, many may have graduated and whether or not they succeeded at the professional level, they would have had a diploma and therefore a solid career and a brighter future. Furthermore, college athletes face the constant threat of suffering a career ending injury. This would end not only their dreams of a professional career but also ends their educational career as well. For most student-athletes, the professional ranks are out of reach but an injury still would likely end their dreams for a higher education. In this situation, scholarships should not be revoked. (Hruby, 2011) The institution should honor their commitment to the athlete in the same way that the athlete made a fateful commitment to the institution. This is just another method, in addition to small payments, that a college should underscore the ideals of fairness to those that provide it and other students a great financial benefit. Injuries to college athletes occur to various degrees and cause various negative outcomes. Anthony Poindexter, a football player at the University of Virginia, is but one example of injuries affecting the future earnings potential of a college athlete. Poindexter was a first team All-American selection and was projected to be picked in either low first round or high second round draft pick in the NFL. However, in his senior season during the seventh game, he injured his knee. Instead of being a sure high-round choice, he was the 216th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens. The injury cost Poindexter millions of dollars (Chaisson, 2001). The opponents of paying college players a small stipend do not mention cases such as Poindexter. He lived, as many athletes do, in dire poverty while attending school but still put the university’s interest ahead of his own. The young man lost a fortune because of his loyalty to his university. He could have opted to leave early and become a millionaire but did not. I would not suggest this approach to payment of athletes but not compensating them in the smallest of ways is a travesty of decency, simple humanity and fairness. Some argue that athletes are treated as privileged citizens on campus. Well, of course they are, but many of the people that believe this to be true are part of the tens of thousands that cheer them from the stands. Their ‘rock-star’ status is not of the athletes’ choosing but is unavoidable. However, those that think that athletes are privileged characters are looking only at the surface outcomes of the overall picture. There unquestionably is a disparity between college athletes and other students and it does not favor the athlete. For example, university students who are involved in extracurricular activities other than athletics, musicians for example, receive scholarships and can perform for the university’s symphony whether or not they make passing grades or are academically eligible. They are able to perform and earn money in a professional orchestra while enrolled in school. By comparison, if athletes do this, they are kicked out of school, lose their scholarship and most probably end their chance of playing professionally. A majority of college athletes would not be in school if not for their talents because the high cost is prohibitive. Parents universally remind their athletically inclined child that they must work hard in both the athletic and scholastic arena if they have any chance to go to college. This dream is instilled early on and kids work diligently for many years to achieve this goal. Many parents cannot afford to attend the games in which their child is competing much less have the financial ability to send their over-achieving children the extra money needed for even the barest of essentials while they are at school. A small stipend should not be viewed as an unneeded luxury for already pampered college athletes. By contrast, it should be seen as a fair, humane thing to do for those youths who are contributing and sacrificing more than all others to their university. Works Cited Chaisson, Nathan. “Athletes Should be Paid to Play.” The Collegiate Times. April 17, 2011 Hruby, Patrick. “Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ending the Debate Once and for All.” The Atlantic April 17, 2011 Meshefejian, Krikor. “Pay to Play: Should College Athletes be Paid?” The Journal of Business Law Society. (March 23, 2005). University of Illinois College of Law. April 17, 2011 < http://www.gale.cengage.com/pdf/samples/sp737899.pdf > Read More