1. Katie Suchodolski 1
FYS
Harold Blanco
September 17, 2014
Paying College Athletes
Even for a college athlete, it is hard to say whether or not us athletes should be paid for playing
our sport. There are a slew of reasons why the NCAA has not passed a law saying that athletes can be
paid, and there are plenty of reasons why people are still fighting for athletes to make an income. As a
student athlete, I have experience with the recruiting process and athletic scholarships. With this
knowledge and research I have done, I have come to the decision that it would not be right for student
athletes to be paid, no matter the caliber of talent. One reason being that universities do not have
enough money to be paying every one of their athletes, and it would not be fair if they only paid a
select few. On the other hand, the possibility of an income for student athletes could promote better
study habits and lead to over all better grade point averages. (Don't just pay students to play, pay them
to study ..). The College Athlete Protection Act is another form of promoting better grades from student
athletes, but without actually paying them cash. To be honest, it would be really awesome to get paid
for playing the sport that I love, but it is just not realistic in college.
To me, it would not be right for student athletes to be paid for playing their sport. I understand
that it is harder for athletes to have a job in college and make money due to rigorous training schedules
and trying to stay on top of schoolwork, but that does not mean that they should be paid for being an
athlete. Some athletes do not receive scholarship money therefore I do not see how schools and athletic

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departments can give extra money to athletes on scholarship. I talked to my friends during their
recruiting processes and some coaches claim to “not have enough money” to offer them a scholarship.
If that was the case, how could universities pay players on top of the scholarships already given out?
During my research I found that when talking about paying athletes, they mostly talk about football and
men's basketball. Which leads me to the question, if the NCAA was to start paying athletes, would it
only be for those two sports? If so, my point is made more clear. It would not be fair to only pay those
two sports when all the other athletes work just as hard. Tennis may not be the most grossing sporting
event at a university, but that does not mean that the athletes do not train as hard and the star quarter
back of the football team.
Statistics are one good way to show my case and point. According to USA Today only about 20
NCAA Division One football programs actually make a profit. (Don't just pay students to play, pay
them to study ..). This proves that for most Division One schools, even their most popular sporting
event does not make money. So where would the money for the athletes come from? 24% of the 458
students who took a survey said that they think the money would come from an increase in tuition.
(Schneider, Raymond). It most likely would not happen that a school would only pay football and
men's basketball due to Title IX, it would be more than likely that women's sports would lose
financing. ( Let's Start Paying College Athletes). Even 49% of the students that took the survey say that
athletes do not need to be paid because they are already being paid through athletic scholarships. Also
39% said that athletic departments do not have enough money to be paying athletes. ( Schneider,
Raymond). With that said, I make a pretty clear point that athletes should nor receive additional
payments.
In contrast to my opinion, there are some very good points made on why athletes should be

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paid. One reason being is that paying athletes could have a positive influence on high school
academics. (Don't just pay students to play, pay them to study ..). If a high school athlete knew that
they had the possibility of being paid to play a college sport, they would work harder to achieve that
goal. The opportunity to be paid in college would push young athletes to get better grades and and
become a more well rounded student so they become a college athlete, because it is not all about
athletic ability. Out of the 458 surveys, 76% believe that the rate of cheating would decline among
athletes. Also, 63% believe that student athletes generate a large income for their schools and athletic
departments and deserved to be paid for that. (Schneider, Raymond). A program where student athletes
had to maintain a certain grade point average on order to receive payment would increase student
athlete graduation rates. (Don't just pay students to play, pay them to study ..). With money on the line,
students are more likely to be motivated to do their work and get good grades rather than having little
to no other outside motivation.
One idea that some people are trying to arrange is the College Athlete Protection Act or the CAP
Act. (Sack, Allen). The CAP Act would disclose that student athletes are not employees, but they are
students, and coaches are educators whose salaries would not be based on the cash flow their team has
coming in. With that, student athletes would indeed be student athletes because schoolwork comes first,
rather than athlete-students, which is what many athletes have as an order of importance. As a student
athlete I have often found myself putting athletics before my education, in which cases I have fallen
behind. Being compensated for good grades would definitely help athletes stay motivated. According
to the CAP Act, student athletes would receive educational benefits rather than cash. (Sack, Allen).
Benefits like multiyear scholarships, academic trust funds for athletes who wish to pursue a post
graduate degree, medical benefits and injury insurance just to name a few. Having these types of

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benefits would be much more suitable for college athletes because these are important things, whereas
is they were just given money, they would blow it on clothes or food. The CAP Act has the students
education in mind rather than just their athletics.
Through my prior knowledge and recent research, I have concluded that student athletes should
not receive extra payments. There is no guarantee that payments would influence athletes to do
better in school and increase graduation rates. Also, not all NCAA universities have the money to
be paying student athletes extra on top of scholarships. Though the CAP Act may be a happy medium
between those for and against paying athletes, I stand by my original point.