Higher Compensation for Higher Education: Paying College Athletes
USEM 102
21 February 2011
College Athletes: Higher Compensation for Higher Education? Division 1 athletes have it all: the glory of representing the school’s colors and honor, the pretty girls, televised games, and most have room and board along with classes paid for. Some think that all this is not enough for these young players; they deserve to be paid for their dedication and hard work. This is a very controversial topic because there is such a fine line between professional athletes and amateur athletes. College athletes get scholarship money for performance on the field or court, and the definition of a professional athlete is someone who gets compensation for on field or court performances. When you add a paycheck and agents into college sports, holdouts on contracts and greed start ruining a pure game. College athletics are special in many different ways, but the most important may be the fact that college athletes are playing for the love of the game and not the love of a buck.
Controversy has followed the issue regarding college athletes and whether they should be paid to play. Both sides have convincing arguments; on the side of payment to college athletes believe athletes should be compensated because the athletes are the attraction when spectators come to games and when fans buy jerseys and other memorabilia. Think of how much revenue star players bring the schools they attend, between jerseys, tickets, and money schools get for attending bowl games, the players should get a cut. If student athletes get paid then they have more initiative to stay in school and get a degree. Many people also think that if an athlete gets paid to play then the incentive to partake in illegal activities will be eliminated between players and agents. Most star college athletes do not have time for a job to make money so they need some other source of income rather than relying on family. For a college athlete, school and practice is a full time job and
21 February 2011
College Athletes: Higher Compensation for Higher Education? Division 1 athletes have it all: the glory of representing the school’s colors and honor, the pretty girls, televised games, and most have room and board along with classes paid for. Some think that all this is not enough for these young players; they deserve to be paid for their dedication and hard work. This is a very controversial topic because there is such a fine line between professional athletes and amateur athletes. College athletes get scholarship money for performance on the field or court, and the definition of a professional athlete is someone who gets compensation for on field or court performances. When you add a paycheck and agents into college sports, holdouts on contracts and greed start ruining a pure game. College athletics are special in many different ways, but the most important may be the fact that college athletes are playing for the love of the game and not the love of a buck.
Controversy has followed the issue regarding college athletes and whether they should be paid to play. Both sides have convincing arguments; on the side of payment to college athletes believe athletes should be compensated because the athletes are the attraction when spectators come to games and when fans buy jerseys and other memorabilia. Think of how much revenue star players bring the schools they attend, between jerseys, tickets, and money schools get for attending bowl games, the players should get a cut. If student athletes get paid then they have more initiative to stay in school and get a degree. Many people also think that if an athlete gets paid to play then the incentive to partake in illegal activities will be eliminated between players and agents. Most star college athletes do not have time for a job to make money so they need some other source of income rather than relying on family. For a college athlete, school and practice is a full time job and
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