Preview

Pros And Cons Of College Athletes Getting Paid

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1344 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Pros And Cons Of College Athletes Getting Paid
College Athletes Getting Paid: Considerate or Materialistic? Now, more than ever, we live in an era of entitlement. College students are fully aware of the time and effort they must put forth should they choose to participate in a sport. The rules and regulations are clearly stated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and receiving compensation for their contributions are clearly not stated. Paying college athletes has been an ongoing debate since the early 1900’s.
In 1905, the Intercollegiate Athletic Association (IAA) set bylaws requiring college athletes to be amateurs at the time they play their respective sport in order to play in intercollegiate athletic competitions (Schneider 1). One year later, in 1906, the IAA
…show more content…
“...there is an obvious lack of appreciation of a college degree from those in favor of paying athletes,” quote by Dennis A. Johnson (Johnson 3). Athletes are supposed to focus on being a student first and an athlete second, and the payments would put the focus on athletics over academics (Terp 33). Finding a strategy to pay all college athletes would be very difficult, whereas the amount and method would be highly debatable. College athletes are provided with “...remarkable opportunities to get an education at the finest universities and to go professional if they want to,” stated by NCAA president, Mark Emmert (“Should” 3). Statistically shown, less than 2 percent of college athletes carry their athleticism into an actual career (“Should” 2). Football and basketball, being the most popular of college sports, have an inconsequential amount of players continue on into the NFL or NBA, respectively. In men’s football, out of 73,660 NCAA participants, only 1.5 percent of said participants make it to the NFL. Men’s basketball has a slight decrease of players going professional, having 16,593 NCAA participants and 1.1 percent going professional (Terp …show more content…
An estimated 48 percent of the players knew of others that had been secretly compensated (Johnson 8). This goes to show that athletes are sometimes paid even against the rules and regulations of the NCAA. Tim Tebow, former Denver Broncos quarterback, current outfielder for the New York Mets, once joked with his college coach prior to the national championship game, saying he should receive a portion of the coach’s bonus money to ensure he led the team to victory (Johnson

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    This logic is extremely flawed for many of the reasons discussed earlier. The athletes cannot get the same value out of the education because of the already intense time commitment to the sport that has given them the opportunity to be in school. The idea that a college education is payment would have to assume that a college degree always pays off in the long run. In reality, the glut of bachelor degrees entering the workforce is lessening their value. Without actually experiencing the class room and receiving the right networking and advising opportunities, it cannot be assumed that the degree is worth the athlete’s time. Especially considering that the time spent in college could be a player losing money available by playing in the professional leagues. The idea that an education is worth to a player what a professional salary would be seems to be a naïve view. While a cash payment may not solve the problems of a college athlete, and it may perpetuate some economic issues, payment is what these players are entitled to because they are the symbols that fill the stadiums across national campuses. Even with a full scholarship an athlete may have to pay between $8,000 to $12,000 more than the allotted amount due to travel and other needs. Assuming that the education itself, along with the opportunities and athletic department support, is payment enough, is assuming that those…

    • 1534 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Several issues are involved in the heated debate on whether student-athletes should be paid by their institutions for their athletic services. Some believe that student-athletes receive more than enough compensation through their awarded scholarships. Others believe that student-athletes should be rewarded for hard work and the revenue they bring to their colleges and universities. To further the debate, the authors would like to review a few comments from both proponents and opponents of pay for collegiate student-athletes, to help readers gain a better understanding.…

    • 2489 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Before they appeared on national television playing for thousands of adoring fans, the majority of professional athletes started off at some point as wide-eyed, college freshman recruits, eager to bring glory to their school and to themselves. The hierarchy was set. Starting off at the bottom of the totem pole, they knew that the only way to gain any kind of playing time was to work hard day in and day out, during every practice. Sure enough, the rookie freshman became the All-Star senior who led his school to a championship season. This triumphant story of amateurism resonates in almost every university team’s locker room. Today, however, a hotly debated issue in the National Collegiate Athletic Association threatens to change the very essence of what makes college sports what they are.…

    • 2922 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pay for play

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Fairness, academics and equitable competition” is the mission statement for the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The National Collegiate Athletic Association, also known as the NCAA, is an association that regulates major areas of college athletics for members and student athletes. The organization is defined as a non-profit, and as proclaimed by the president Dr. Mark A. Emmert, “…is committed to providing opportunity for more than 430,000 college students who compete annually in intercollegiate athletics” (NCAA). Recently the NCAA published their financial report for the 2011-2012 fiscal years. The report features a pie chart displaying a revenue breakdown, and distribution of revenue breakdown. I will examine the economic impact in these categories and consider how a possible change in distribution of the revenue to players affects the NCAA purpose and amateurism of the sport.…

    • 804 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Remy, D. (2012). Why the New York Times ' Nocera is wrong. NCAA News, 5.…

    • 1408 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    recruited by the pros a chance to buy some time, and hopefully figure out how they are going to get by with the rest of their lives and give them a little savings in the bank to work with (Steve Siebold). Athletes would also be more motivated in academics and athletics. “They are the very reason college sports fans turn on the TV and attend the games. They are what generates revenues all around” (Steve…

    • 1693 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Should Athletes Be Paid

    • 4235 Words
    • 17 Pages

    Corruption, scandals, suspensions, firings and a systems that is systematically flawed all the while the fact of the matter is that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a organization that is bringing in billions of dollars each year yet the labor force generating the money gets a scholarship that many athletes believe doesn’t pay enough for everything that is needed on campus so this leads the author to have to take a look at if athletes need to be paid. I will outline numerous problems that are going on in college athletics and possible solutions to problems. I will take a look at the scholarship itself to determine if that is sufficient enough for campus life. The bottom line is from the outside looking in is that there is a lot money going into the hands of administrators and coach’s with none going into the people shedding the blood sweat and tears. It would seem that the system in place at times, wants to make the student athlete stand around with their hands out accepting all and any money that they can find from an outside source, which is in violation of NCAA bylaws concerning amateur sports.…

    • 4235 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    College Athletes Be Paid

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Frankly, there is no simple answer to the question of salaries for college athletes. The NY Times Upfront article “Should College Athletes Be Paid?” poses two fantastic arguments; “yes” says Joe Nocera, author of Indentured: The Inside Story of the Rebellion Against the NCAA, and “no” says Bob Williams, Sr. Vice President of Communications a NCAA. Although Mr. Nocera makes the valid point of how much revenue college athletes earn for their schools, Williams states how college salary would end the focus of academics for athletes, as well as sparking a controversial new “industry” in college.…

    • 478 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It has been a debate for quite some time as to whether college athletes should be paid for their work on the field. They are some of the hardest working individuals that obtain intense practices and demanding college courses, and many believe that they should be rewarded for their hard work. But the ongoing debate is whether it is right to pay these players as if they were employees. Many major colleges provide the best services for their athletes by providing them with the greatest gyms to workout in, free health insurance for injuries, transportation, food, equipment, and most of the time, a full four-year scholarship. On top of all of these things that are provided, does it seem right to be paying these students as well? Determination and motivation for greatness during college should be enough; therefore, I don’t think that college athletes should be paid.…

    • 993 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Student athletes should be compensated for their work, as they are the sole reason for the Athletic Program’s surplus in revenue. These athletes are working for the schools and are doing a service to the college that seems to go unnoticed. Colleges are using these athletes to boost their respective reputations and bring in revenue while not compensating these athletes for their work. Everywhere else athletes are paid, so why shouldn’t college students too? Some critics may argue that these student-athletes are amateurs, and if paid then are becoming professional athletes. The minor league for baseball could be considered an amateur sport, although they do receive pay according to the team’s revenue.…

    • 872 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The 2013 graduation success rate for Big 5 football programs was 71 percent, a historical high; for basketball, it was 73 percent, one point off a historical high. College athletes are graduating without the payment from the NCAA.If college players were to get paid, the percent rate would go…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Every year seniors leave and new recruits come in. Of those seniors how many actually go onto play professionally? This stat was very appealing to me because the percentage for all sports is rather low. Of NCAA male senior basketball players only 1.2 percent will get drafted by an NBA team. Only 1 percent of NCAA senior female athletes will get drafted by a WNBA team. You would think that a lot of NCAA senior football players would get drafted but a mere 1.8 percent get drafted to an NFL team. At an almost alarming rate, 9.4…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The common argument to college athletes being paid is that they are “Student Athletes.” Taylor Branch the writer of The Shame Of College Sports agrees that the NCAA makes “Student…

    • 1421 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    College athletics have gained immense popularity among Americans over the past few decades. This has resulted into increased revenues for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the participating colleges which has fuelled the debate of whether college athletes should be compensated beyond their athletic scholarships. Athletes should not receive payment for their athletic play for reasons such they already receive a full scholarship, which athletes would get paid, and undermines what college is all about.…

    • 440 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Athletic departments in colleges nationwide generate massive revenue and depend on the success of their athletes for income. For example, the Southeastern Conference became the first conference in 2010 to earn over $1 billion in athletic receipts, Taylor Branch wrote in The Atlantic last year. The Big Ten was a close second with earnings close to $905 million, he wrote” (Rebecca Barry n.p.). Opposers of paying college athletes always seem to complain “Athletes are already on scholarships, they don’t need to get paid “when in fact scholarships exceeding $20,000 may seem like a lot but in reality it only covers tuition, housing, a meal plan, and textbooks (Tyson Hartnett n.p.). No matter what type of scholarship college athletes are normally dead broke. But top NCAA executives make 1 million dollars a year; coaches on average make $100,000 a year plus bonuses for wins, records, etc. (Tyson Hartnett n.p.). Opposers also say “It is unfair to students who are paying tuition and don’t get paid to go there, for athletes to get scholarships and to get paid to go there”(Anna Simmons n.p.). When in fact the non-athletes are not bringing in money to the school like the athletes are. Universities bring in millions of dollars every year with their athletic programs through donations, ticket sales, media rights, advertising, ect. Colleges make all this money, yet most of it is not used for the benefit of the college athletes (21 Reasons…

    • 1095 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays