College Athletes Should Be Paid

The debate on whether college athletes should be rewarded for their dedication to sports through payment has many different arguments to it. Although some would argue that athletes do not deserve to be paid, it would be fair for them to receive compensation for their hard work. College athletes should be paid because they deserve it based on the amount of the work they put into their lifestyle, the college sports industry would be more than able to afford it, and it is immoral and possibly illegal to prevent the athletes from being paid. Critics to this idea argue that there are already enough advantages given for being a student-athlete such as: generous scholarships, exposure to future contract opportunities, and access to beneficial networks (Text 3, lines 23,26-28). This is not entirely accurate, however, because many athletes struggle with maintaining a stable financial situation. In fact, according to “The Price of Poverty in Big Time College Sport” 85 percent of these student-athletes still fall below the poverty line, despite scholarships (Text 1, lines 22-23). Overall, the benefits from being a college athlete may not be as glorious as they suggest. …show more content…
In an excerpt from “It’s Time to Pay College Athletes”, it is suggested that top teams and players can spend up to 40 hours per week on their sports (Text 2, line 10). This consumption of time is equivalent to a full-time job, excluding the paycheck. Football player Richard Samuel even confessed to being an “athlete-student” rather than a “student-athlete” (Text 2, line 12). If a player is willing to commit fully to a sport, where their time meant for studying or working a regular job is being consumed, they should at least be granted an appropriate