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Payment Of College Athletes

Timothy Tsipenyuk

AP Literature

Mr.Janosch

November 28, 2017

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In 2014, college Athlete Shabazz Napier was quoted saying,“We do have hungry

nights that we don’t have enough money to get food in. Sometimes money is needed. I

don’t think you should stretch it out to hundreds of thousands of dollars for playing,

because a lot of times guys don’t know how to handle themselves with money. I feel like a

student athlete. Sometimes, there’s hungry nights where I’m not able to eat, but I still gotta

play up to my capabilities.” This quote is from the Huffington Post and shows from the

perspective of a College Athlete the life is really lived by many College Athletes. Truly,

College Athletes deserve to be payed for their college careers.

College Athletes deserve to be payed for their college careers. In an article posted

by the Gale Company Research Group they stated, “But two recent rulings may change all

that--and alter college athletics forever. In August, a federal judge decided that players in

top college football and men's basketball programs--the big-money sports--are entitled to

receive payment if their "names, images, and likenesses" are used in video games or TV

broadcasts.” This means that college athletes will be getting some type of money.” This

quote shows that legally College Athletes are entitled to some sort of payment from

commercials using their names, video games such as 2k or Madden that use college players

and their names in the game without having to pay the actual College Player. Another quote

stated in the Huffington Post (Citation Below) they state, “O’Bannon and 19 others sued

the NCAA, claiming the organization violated United States antitrust laws by not allowing

athletes to get a share of the revenues generated from the use of their images in broadcasts.

and video games. Many former collegiate players were compensated, but some felt it was
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inadequate and they were owed more.” This quote shows that the NCAA is being greedy by

paying the least amount possible to these athletes who make it possible for the NCAA to

even get revenue.

Another problem that is caused by the NCAA and their rules against paying College

Athletes is the corruption that it brings. When College Athletes are not payed, it makes it

more tempting to big companies such as Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and many other

brands as well as sports agents who want to manage these high profile figures want to

secure these future athletic stars by buying them cars, expensive watches among many

other things. One example of this can be shown in the case of current college basketball

sensation, Collin Sexton. On ESPN they state, “According to the federal complaint, former

Alabama associate athletic director Kobie Baker accepted bribes from Michel and a

cooperating witness to influence Crimson Tide players to sign with a financial adviser once

they turned pro. The indictment alleges that the unidentified player's father also met with

Michel and Baker in Atlanta.” This quote shows how the NCAA and their rules against any

type of profiting for their College Athletes is ruining careers just because of the NCAA and

their own greed. There is no reason that College Athletes should not have the option to sign

with whatever agent or brand they want to sign with.

Another reason why College Athletes should be payed for their labor is so that they

could feed their families. According to the Huffington Post they state, “Players would be

able to actually afford a decent meal and possibly send some money back home. Many of

these athletes come from urban, low-class families and often leave school early because of

the unimaginable pressure to be the main provider for their family at a young age.” This
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quote shows how many of these College Athletes are struggling themselves and their

families are also struggling and need some extra money. Many of these problems could be

easily solved if the NCAA were to allow College Athletes to be payed for their labor.

Another reason why College Athletes should be payed for their labor is so that

players are more likely to play for the full 4 years as well as graduate from college.

According to the Huffington Post they state, To back up the last point, players wouldn’t

have to leave school early and would still be able to pursue an education while taking care

of their family back home. This would possibly increase graduation rates, allow fans to see

their favorite players mature through college, and ensure coaches are preparing athletes as

much as possible for the next level.” This quote shows that paying the athletes would be

both beneficial to the athletes and the schools that host them. If they are payed they are

more likely to stay and compete for the school more and bringing in revenue as well as

letting the players develop their skills more with their coaches and teams.

However, on the other hand some people may disagree with the argument that

College Athletes should be payed for their labor. One example showing this point of view

can be found in an article by the Huffington Post when they state, “How will players be

compensated? Will each player receive the same amount? What about the top level talent?

Should they receive more because they were All-Americans? In theory, wouldn’t it bring

problems between players, due to one teammate potentially receiving more money?” They

claim that paying players may cause problems because some players would be payed more

than others. The same thing happens at the professional level in any sport and there's

usually never any conflict over this. Another argument that is given against the payment of
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athletes can be found in the same article when they state, “Let’s face it, if they give these

kids money, they’ll never have any incentive to go to class. Many of them don’t want to go

already, combined with the fact that some may be receiving grades without doing any

work. Money will only add to this fact.” This is easily avoided because many colleges

require Student-Athletes to have a certain amount of attendance in order to be able to

receive time to play, also if students do not attend class than the college should have the

right to hold the students pay. Another argument that people give against the payment of

College Athletes is found in the same article by Huffington Post when they state, “Amateur

players receiving compensation just seems like a complete disaster. They don’t know how

to manage their money, and there wouldn’t be anyone there to guide their financial

decisions. Colin Cowherd states, “I don’t think paying all college athletes is great; not

every college is loaded, and most 19-year-olds (are) gonna spend it—and let’s be honest,

they’re gonna spend it on weed and kicks!” One final argument is that other college sports

would be cut from schools. According to Veronica Majerol from New York times it states

that “ The NCAA argues that the big-money sports essentially subsidize sports that don't

bring in any profits, like lacrosse and soccer. Such programs might suffer or even be

eliminated if the more profitable programs suddenly had to give top athletes a cut of

revenues.” This means that other college sports would be eliminated. This problem can also

be easily avoided if the school require these students to take classes on how to manage their

money before they begin to play in games and receive pay for it. Also that since the venue

of big time sports they should give a small percentage to the small venue sports.Truly there

is no reason for College Athletes to get payed for their playtime and labor that they put into

their respected sports programs.

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In conclusion, the pros obviously outway all of the cons when it comes to paying

College Athletes. There is no reason that the NCAA and all of these colleges are being

greedy and not letting the people who make it possible for them to earn this money not to

get their fair share of profits from products, commercials and using the players likenesses

in other forms.

Work Cited

Lemmons, Malcolm. “College Athletes Getting Paid? Here Are Some Pros And

Cons.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 29 Mar. 2017,

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www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/college-athletes-getting-paid-here-are-some-pros-

cons_us_58cfcee0e4b07112b6472f9a.

Schlabach, Mark. “Tide's Collin Sexton Ruled Ineligible after Being ID'd in FBI

Complaint.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 7 Nov. 2017, www.espn.com/mens-college-

basketball/story/_/id/21332699/collin-sexton-alabama-declared-ineligible-being-identified-

federal-complaint.

Majerol, Veronica. "Should college athletes be paid? two recent rulings may change

the face of college sports." New York Times Upfront, 15 Sept. 2014, p. 14+. General

OneFile, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A383048730/GPS?

u=nysl_me_73_shb&sid=GPS&xid=c151d723. Accessed 28 Nov. 2017.