College Athletes Should Be Paid Essay

With coaches making upwards of $7 million dollars a year and television ratings for its game coverage skyrocketing, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has had its fair share of good times in the 21st century. The association has also had its worst times as well, “the NCAA has never been more vulnerable and on the defensive with regards to it policies and practices, especially its reliance on the age-old characterization of college athletes as “amateurs” who are first and foremost “student-athletes” and the limits its members have collectively imposed on the remuneration these players receive” (Sanderson 115). Plain and simple, the NCAA does not want to dish out money to players to compensate for their play time. The NCAA views the athlete only as that amateur and not as an employee of the association. Even though the NCAA gives out athletic scholarships to those who deserve them, that is not enough compensation for the hardworking men/ women. These ways have sparked debate of whether or not college athletes should be paid to play on their team. The simple answer is yes; college athletes should be paid to play their sport. One of the major reasons college athletes should be paid is the absurd amount of money they bring into their respective colleges and into the NCAA. College football and basketball …show more content…
According to the study, “in 2005 a draft ready football player is worth $495,000 and a draft ready basketball player is worth over $1.4 million to the NCAA respectively” (Povich 4). Given that the average cost for 4 years at a private institution is around $128,000, you can see a discrepancy. The fact of the matter is that a college athlete is obviously way more valuable than a college education. So why can’t something be done about this? Can student-athletes be paid fairly for how much they are actually