The idea of paying a college athlete appears to be outrageous to some. The thought of giving someone money for something they have chosen to do may not appear to be fair. The greatest concern is where to draw the line. Should the decision be based on the amount of money and fame the program generates? Why should athletes be treated special and receive compensation for their contribution to the school?
One major factor is that athletes make numerous sacrifices beyond that of a antithetic student. Many athletes can’t seek employment to help offset the expenses of college because they are on the field or court for the majority of their day. Their time and effort is devoted to that of the school, thus potentially sacrificing their education. In many cases, athletes don’t receive funding for college, which means that not only are they paying financially, but physically to compete.
The school takes in money from ticket sales, television contracts, and sport-related merchandise, just to name a few. If the athletes are fortunate enough to receive a scholarship, usually that is the only benefit. This in turn leads to taking out loans and having to look for there scholarships or sources of compensation, but this doesn’t stop them from being involved in the teams’ activities. The real question is why shouldn’t an athlete in college be paid to play? College athletes are the real moneymakers for the school, and they should be paid to play.
Recently, the Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson was interviewed about his opinion on whether or not college athletes should be paid; he made it very clear that he was all for payment of players. Peterson basically stated that, “When he was in college that the jersey and ticket sells, made a lot of money for the university. College sports provide a huge source of the universities income. He continues to stress his point by saying that, “athletes are the reason the school gets attention, if they wouldn’t play as well and as hard as they do, schools wouldn’t attract people willing to spend their money to support the programs. Regardless to the size of the school, as big as the Vikings or as small as a junior college, every successful athletic program brings in money to the universities, so why shouldn’t the athletes benefit as well? While the possibility of receiving a free college education is something ewe would complain about, when the issue is more closely examined it becomes evident that it is not enough. “l used to be totally against doing anything other than room, board, books, tuition, and fees; but I’ve changed” according to Kansas Basketball Head Coach, Bill Self.
On a radio interview, Bill Self elaborated on seeing the situation from both prospective as a player and a coach. He agreed that college athletes are very similar to pro athletes in terms of responsibility and liability, but was not compensated in the same manner. The trend is for athletes to leave school early for the professional agues because of the fame and fortune that follows this move. There have been numerous reports of violations surrounding the accusations of scouts; university boosters and alumni are paying players.
Unfortunately for all those involved, athletes have been accused of making deals with gamblers and altering the outcome of games. All of these problems could be minimized or theoretically eliminated, by adopting a program for compensating student athletes. People have argued that paying college athletes defeats the purpose of the pro athletes. Here’s where they are wrong, if a college athlete is good enough to play as a pro there is no reason why he or she shouldn’t be compensated at the level they are performing before they are drafted.
After all, it is the same player, same sport, just a different showground. They devote just as much time and effort to the team sport as the pros in addition to balancing school and the requirements of the curriculum. In all honesty this balancing act can be overwhelming and some students may have family obligations as well, which poses an even greater challenge. College athletes are exploited by their schools, which make millions of dollars off of them. The NCAA and professional leagues can work together to institute a plan to compensate these athletes and remedy all these problems.
Student athletes need money just like any other college students, and many of them need it even more. Many of these talented athletes come from a disadvantaged background and do not have the financial support needed to sustain from home. They are driven to do there very best to hopefully change their future and the lives of their love ones. Most collegiate athletes receive injuries during his or her athletic career. There is an astonishing 750,000 injuries reported per year in the United States. Injuries are the worst part of being a college competitor.
Even worse, is the possible¶y’ of a requiring injury or multiple injuries in one’s career? Breaking a bone or tearing a muscle puts both a physical and mental toll on the athlete. It sucks to know a player has to sit for a season because he or she hurt himself or herself playing for a team. Now this student has to deal with recovery. Which sounds like it would be easier on the player because one isn’t playing, when honestly is harder work. They have to sit and watch their team either fail or succeed without them. And knowing they had nothing to do with the win can tear an athlete own.
Even if the team fails knowing one could’ve helped win the game can cause a lot of mental problems. It is said that the fear of getting injured again causes many mental breakdowns amongst athletes. The road to recovery can be very stressful academically too. The student has to miss several days of class because he/she is in pain or getting surgery or anything dealing with their injury. This sets the student behind now this student IS playing catch up in the classroom and not playing on the fields or courts at all. Its said that injuries with many athletes are more mental than anything.