Argumentative essay whether college students should be paid paid

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Should college students be paid or not?
What I know and what I need to know
Colleges and the NCAA earn billions of dollars from the sports industry. Roughly, NCAA
makes about 871.6 million dollars a year (Ncaa.org par.1). Although the college students generate
massive incomes to their respective schools and the NCAA, the athletes receive no pay. The
NCAA regulations demands that, no college athlete should receive any endorsement or
compensation while take part in college athletes. This is despite the fact that, the referees and the
coaches who train the athletes are rewarded with heavy salaries by the NCAA. Interestingly, some
colleges pay the athletes under the table in attempts to persuade them to remain and be playing in
the respective college teams. Bigger schools are involved in illegal activities of buying the best
players from other schools to compose the best teams for themselves. Colleges also offer partial
scholarships to athletes as incentives which only holds when the athlete achieves a specified GPA.
The college athletes are also given special treatment and the schools are made popular and make
billions selling the athletes’ jerseys and ticket sales. In this paper, I will be attempting to discover
how much the NCAA earns per year, the incentives the players receive, the reasons as to why the
athletes should be paid, as well as find out the examples of well-known college athletes that receive
a pay. I will also be exploring the pros and cons of paying the college athletes.
What I have learned
The college students generate a lot of revenues to their respective colleges, NCAA and the
coaches. The colleges ride on the athlete’s popularity to make billions of dollars. They are able to

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earn popularity through their best players and they earn a lot through selling of the player’s jerseys
and the tickets during athletic games. In the year 2012, the NCAA recorded net revenues
amounting to $871.6 dollars. The coaches too are benefiting a lot from the college athletes. They
ride on the popularity and the talents of the college athletes to acquire a celebrity status. They are
also able to earn other compensation packages based on the performance of the athlete. Nick
Saban, Alabama’s football coach pockets over $7million in a year while his counterpart, Urban
Meyer who coaches Ohio State, pockets over $4.6 million per year other compensation packages
not included. Basketball coaches like Mike Krzyzewski are able to take home over $9.7 million in
year while John Calipari earns a yearly basic salary amounting to $7 million.
In the basketball field, college teams which finish among the “first four” receive honor and
glory and are guaranteed a payment of over $.7.7 million (Vanderford 805). In basketball, any
team that reaches the “Final Four” championship finals earn glory, respect and is expected to
receive over $7.7 million dollars The athletes are also the reasons behind major sponsorships such
as those provided by Nike such as payments to coaches all which are given to the NCAA
(Vanderford 806). The NCAA has transformed the college athletics into a commercial venture.
The NCAA uses heavy technologies in selling the athletic tickets to the spectators and the
mainstream media has to pay heavily in order to be allowed to air the games. For example, in the
year 2014, CBS was forced to pay $800 million to the NCAA in order to be given a live coverage
and airing of basketball competitions for three weeks (Sanderson and Siegfried 121). These
basketball games earned the CBS sports and Turner to earn a revenue of over $750 million. The
student athletes bring a lot of revenues to the NCAA and officials such as the coaches. The huge
revenues to the NCAA calls for the compensation of the college athletes.

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The NCAA offers a medical cover to the athletes but is always insufficient and faulty, not
covering all of their medical bills. For example, Kyle Hardrick, an alumni of the University of
Oklahoma, had to personally source money and pay for his medical bills after he incurred injuries
during a practice session. The medical insurance cover belonging to her mother was also not
sufficient. Due to the injuries, the university failed to renew his scholarship forcing him to transfer
to a college in the village (Walch par.14). The college athletes are passionate about pursuing their
goals of becoming professional players. They sacrifice their bodies and physical health and
repeatedly are exposed to injuries during plays and practices (Patterson par.2). The students may
even become paralyzed due to injuries and hence their careers end up collapsing. Colleges like in
the case of Kyle Hardrick may revoke the scholarship of the athletes because they can no longer
perform.
Corruption is high in the NCAA and in colleges. A foul recruiting system is used in
recruiting students into the athletic teams. Corruption and secret deals are applied into recruiting
the best players into colleges. The college kids are being exploited by the adults and people are
making billions of money from the students. For example, Louisville Coach, points out that about
$150,000 was pledged to the first three top recruits to join universities sponsored by the Adidas.
This saw the suspension of Louisville coach, Rick Pitino. One of the students who had bribed to
be allowed into the university team was also removed from all university games.
Pros of paying the college students
College athletes are exposed to greater physical injuries. Since the risks faced by the
college students are high, and the colleges are unwilling to sustain injured students, this calls for
the compensation of the athletes. This will ensure that they can afford the medical bills, meet their
personal needs and also complete studies once the colleges revoke the scholarship. The athlete’s

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life should not come into standstill because he or she has a physical injury. The students should be
able to provide support to their families. They should also be able to afford a decent living and a
meal.
Most of the students come from low-income families as so they should be able to earn,
provide for themselves and also support their families. Though, it’s the student-athlete who work
hard in the field and sacrifice their physical health, it is the coaches and the referees who earn all
the profits and the reputation. The coaches are given gifts and bonuses when athletes break records
and their team reach offseason and when the athletes win big games. Although the coaches have a
big impact in the success of the teams, it is the players who sacrifice a lot in the field to make it
done. They athletes thus deserve a substantial pay in return. Most of the profits that the college
games bring to the university are not directed to the athlete academics. These profits are enjoyed
by the coaches and the directors. Unlike the coaches, the student-athletes do not need big salaries
in return. The students should be paid some amount relative to what the program they play
generates. The scholarships they earn are insufficient.
The colleges where the students study earn reputation and advertisement from the success
of the student-athletes. The administrators of the schools use the reputation and the success of the
student-athletes to market and promote their respective schools. They are able to entice and attract
potential applicants. For example, Doug Flutie’s trophy win in 1984 increased significantly the
Boston college admissions. Thus, these college-athletes should be paid for the benefits they bring
to their respective colleges. The college-athletes work for long hours, beyond 40 hours in a week.
This leaves them with no time to do other jobs. They spend all their time in the college sports. The
students need a compensation in return. Although the NCAA regulations demands the student-
athlete to work for 20 hours, a 2011 survey by NCAA found that the division one players spend

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an average of 43 hours a week while those in basketball spend 42 hours a week. The students only
receive a scholarship for their studies and a maximum of $5,000 as a stipend in a year which is too
little to cater for their needs (Ojalvo & Maycan par.9). On top of class work, the student focus on
balancing with the field work. Sports to them is like a full-time job and thus they should be paid.
The colleges make money through the athlete efforts. The NCAA regulations do not permit the
student-athletes to use their names or images for commercial purposes. For example, Jonny
Manziel, a footballer was once suspended for selling a product bearing his autograph. This is
despite to the fact that, athlete images are used in billboards when NCAA sell tickets (Ojalvo &
Maycan par.10). Other people use the students to make money.
Cons of paying college-athletes
Although, I find paying the college-athletes beneficial, there are also cons offered by various
people who argue that, the athletes should not be paid.
The students receive education scholarships. This means that, even if the athlete does not
earn fortune and fame through the sports, he/she has an opportunity to acquire a degree and pursue
a different career path. The scholarships help those athletes who may not have been able to afford
the college fee or the grades required to join a college. By not paying the student-athletes, the
colleges place a higher value to the athlete education, giving the student to get an alternative career
if sports do not materialize. If the students are paid, the university will instead transform them as
employees. Thus it will be better to fully hold on to the student-athlete concept and ensure that the
colleges uphold their promise for education to the athletes.
The colleges are centers for education. Paying the students would make them give their
education a second priority after money. The student-athletes would become salaried employees

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and would be subjected to financial pressures. Thus, their performance may even deteriorate hence
get fired. The students would also not concentrate on their studies because they know after all,
they are on a payroll thus they will not have time to concentrate on their homework. Paying the
students would mean that, those sports which do not generate revenue will become extinct. Sports
such as basketball and football would have a higher student concentration with students ignoring
those which won’t generate revenue. A departure from the college norms of not paying the athletes
would deny opportunities to those students with interest in games such as tennis. These students
will run to soccer and basketball (Scott par.15). Besides, paying the student-athletes would also
ruin the integrity of the college games. People love watching the college games because the players
play out of passion, not like the professional players who are motivated by money.
What this means
It is good to pay the college-athletes. Although there are cons of paying the student-
athletes, the pros overcome the cons. However, there is need to come up with a robust system that
will reward the student-athletes while keeping them in check. Paying the athletes will create
openness and transparency and thus help in dealing with the eminent corruption in colleges. The
NCAA’s amateurism system should be abolished to allow the players to receive payment. NCAA
should implement a minimum pay for each player. For example, giving each player $25,000.
Although, this will not make the players rich, it will enable them to a decent live. Salary caps
should also be imposed in each game. For example, $650,000 in basketball. The players should
also be allowed to make through endorsements and autographs. This means that, the NCAA adopts
the Olympic amateur system (Huma par.3). The generated revenue can be put into an educational
lockbox and given to the players upon completing their degrees. Paying college-athletes will
enable them get a decent living, afford their education, afford accommodation and food. Examples

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of well-paid college athletes is Johnny Manziel who is worth $547,000 and Andrew Wiggins, a
basketball player worth $1.6 million (Koba par.6).

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Citations
"Ncaa.org" NCAA. Revenue N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Dec. 2017.
Huma, Ramogi. "How To Pay College Athletes: A Three-Part Plan." The Atlantic. N.p., 2016.
Web. 4 Dec. 2017.
Koba, Mark. "Top College Players Could Be Worth $1M On Open Market." CNBC. N.p., 2014.
Web. 4 Dec. 2017.
Ojalvo, Holly, and Taylor Maycan. "Should Athletes Be Paid To Play?." USA TODAY College.
N.p., 2016. Web. 4 Dec. 2017.
Scott, Larry. "Pac-12 Commissioner: Why We Won't Pay Or Unionize College Athletes." USA
TODAY. N.p., 2017. Web. 4 Dec. 2017.
Vanderford, Ryan. "Pay-For-Play: An Age-Old Struggle for Appropriate Reform in a Changing
Landscape between Employer and Employee". Southern California Interdisciplinary Law
Journal 24.3 (2015): n. pag. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Vanderford, Ryan. "Pay-For-Play: An Age-Old Struggle for Appropriate Reform in a Changing
Landscape between Employer and Employee". Southern California Interdisciplinary Law
Journal 24.3 (2015): n. pag. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.
Walch, Jared. "Should Athletes Be Paid To Play?". (2016): n. pag. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.