SHOULD COLLEGE ATHLETES BE PAID

Should college athletes be paid for their services?

Should college athletes be paid for their services?

Introduction

College sports bring in big dollars every year on the major college level. These programs bring $30 and sometimes $40 million dollars per year to the universities and colleges and the players get nothing. These are the same players who are breaking their backs for the university day in and day out and can't get a share of that money and, to me, that does not seem fair. I know what you may be thinking: that these student athletes are getting a free education or have gotten a scholarship to play ball at that university. The issue of whether or not college athletes should be paid for their services has generated a widespread and heated debate across the nation.

Opponents to paying college athletes proclaim that a scholarship to a higher learning institution should be sufficient compensation. Conversely, those who support the proposition, point out the millions of dollars of revenue created through football and basketball alone, questioning the logic behind completely withholding these revenues from those who are largely responsible for generating them. After all, from this perspective, the profits accrued through television rights, bowl games, ticket sales and a variety of other sources would not exist except for the efforts of the athletes.

Discussion

College athletes have traditionally been prohibited from taking on outside employment, and although the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has recently begun to allow scholarship athletes to take part-time jobs during the school year, the fact remains the majority of college athletes have severely restricted earning potential during their college career. Recently, after much debate, the NCAA issued Proposition 62, which gave college athletes the right to work. The amendment allows players to earn up to $1500 a year. It was actually scheduled to go into effect years ago, yet due to never-ending reviews and evaluations, the proposal was considerably delayed (www.usouthal.edu).

Current restrictions also prevent athletes from accepting any kind of compensation for their athletic abilities because it disqualifies them from competing at the collegiate level. In basketball, for example, athletes that are drafted in the NBA surrender their collegiate eligibility automatically if they have ever been paid for their playing abilities, no matter how extensive their stint. This could conceivably discourage those who tried to play professionally and did not succeed from ever returning to ...