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David Muth

Professor Loudermilk

English Composition 2

14 April 2019

The Advantages of Compensating College Athletes

“Where’s Jimmy?” I asked. “He won’t be here; he has football,” My aunt responded. The

Thanksgiving of 2012 is one I will always remember. My cousin Jimmy, who is also my idol,

was not at our family Thanksgiving because he played college football and could not leave. My

family is very close and we do everything together. Most of us are current or former athletes. I

myself have thought about playing college sports. It was devastating not having someone there

for an important holiday. I recall thinking to myself, “He isn’t even being paid.” Ever since that

Thanksgiving, I have always wondered what are the benefits of paying college athletes. After

extensive research, the answers are more clear. Compensating college athletes would be

advantageous to everyone involved because athletes would stay in school for a longer time, the

athletes would be compensated for their work, the NCAA would be able to use the players’s

likeness in video games, athletes could use their own likeness, and fewer scandals would occur,

but the Title IX Law and the foundations of amateurism pose problems.

The National College Athletic Association, more commonly referred to as the NCAA,

was founded in 1906. Although founded in 1906, Justen Cooke mentions in his senior honors

thesis, “The Issue of Compensation: Should NCAA Athletes be Compensated Above Their

Scholarships,” that the NCAA was not given power to make rules until 1942 (6). The NCAA is

the governing body over all college sports. Cooke also mentions the foundations of the NCAA

on amateurism (6). An amateur sport is any sport that is played recreationally, not professionally,
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where the participants are unpaid. For this essay, a student athlete is any college student who also

plays a college sport under the governing body of the NCAA. A player’s likeness is who he or

she is, what her/she does, and what he or she looks like. Although there are numerous logistical

problems of how the athletes would be compensated and how much, that is not the focus.

Compensating the athletes would not necessarily be just money or include money at all. That is a

much larger debate. This essay will look into the main benefits of compensating college athletes

as well as two problems in general of compensating the athletes.

By compensating athletes, the NCAA would be able to use a player’s likeness to make

video games. The video game series NCAA Football and NCAA Basketball used to popular

among video gamers and sports’ fans alike. However all this came to a halt. In the article

“Compensation for College Athletes” published to galegroup.com, the cause of this halt comes

to light in the quote, “In 2009 former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon successfully

brought a suit against the NCAA, the Collegiate Licensing Company, and the video game

company Electronic Arts (EA) Sports for using his likeness and the likenesses of other players in

several series of basketball and football video games,” (“Compensation for College Athletes”).

Ed O’Bannon felt violated, for video games were made that were based around him and his

colleagues without any compensation or their permission. This landmark case was the first of its

kind, but more are likely to come. The lawsuit was successful resulting in no more college sports

video games being produced. According to Roger Grover in his article “EA Sports Will Still

Score Even More Financial Touchdowns Without The NCAA” detailing the financial effects of

the case, EA Sports and the NCAA are set out to lose large sums of money. From 1998 to 2013,

NCAA Football generated $1.3 billion (Groves). That is a little less than $100 million per year

and does not even account for NCAA Basketball, which is also no longer being produced.
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Granted Groves mentions NCAA Football numbers were declining, that is still millions of dollars

being lost by EA Sports and the NCAA. Plus, there is no reason to think those numbers would

continue to decrease as video game popularity increases. When asked in a personal interview

whether he would allow the NCAA and EA Sports in a video game, Jimmy Turvy, a former

college football player for the University of Miami (Ohio), had the perfect response, “Yes, who

wouldn’t want to be in a video game.” Being in a video game is a dream of many kids. These

athletes are not opposed to being in video games, they just want to be fairly compensated for it.

By compensating its athletes, the NCAA would form an employer- employee relationship with

them. This would allow the NCAA and EA Sports to make a deal with each other and produce

college sports video games. The NCAA and EA Sports would make money off the video games,

and the athletes would be compensated as well as be in a video game.

Making a college video game would generate a lot of money, but it would generate even

more if it featured star players for longer periods of time. Many college sports stars featured in

the video games were not featured for many seasons. For example, John Wall and Demarcus

Cousins were only in the NCAA Basketball franchise for one video game. They left college after

one season to play professional basketball and make millions of dollars. In fact, college players

leaving college early or not going at all is a problem plaguing the NCAA. Not only is the NCAA

losing marketing opportunities and schools are losing money, but many student athletes are not

getting a proper education or degree.

It is no secret people would rather watch the best players play no matter what sport. A

common trend in basketball among star players is to play for one year and then enter into the

NBA Draft. The NCAA and schools have been able to survive this one-and-done strategy

because a new batch of star players will come through the following year. However, this is
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starting to change. In the past few years, some players have decided to play in other leagues

besides the NCAA. Among these players are Emmanuel Mudiay and Terrance Ferguson who are

both in the NBA now.

Fig. 1. Terrance Ferguson playing for the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League in

Australia instead of playing in college (Hyde).

A common reason these players spurn the NCAA or only play for one season is because

they feel exploited by not being compensated (Cooke 8). The NCAA and universities are losing

talented athletes as well as marketing opportunities for the star players. In the NCAA right now,

Zion Williamson is a star player. He is in NCAA commercials, on billboards, and is constantly

talked about in the sports world. All this is predicted to end at the end of this basketball season as

Williamson is most likely going to enter the NBA Draft. If Williamson were to be compensated,

would he play in the NCAA for another season? The NCAA and Duke University would

continue to make millions off of him. If other players were compensated and did not feel

exploited, would they play in the NCAA for longer periods? College basketball would be more
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profitable if the star players would stay longer or even go to college. College basketball is not the

only sport losing players early to the professional ranks. College football is also suffering. In

2016, a record 107 college football players left for the NFL while they still had college eligibility

(Cooke 9). College football players must be in college for three years before they head to the

NFL. New basketball leagues formed as an alternative to college basketball so the players would

be able to be compensated before trying to make the NBA. Although unlikely, there is a

possibility new football leagues form to try to lure players away from college. The players that

would potentially play in a new league would be giving up the chance of a college education; the

universities and NCAA would lose some marketability and profitability off of players. However,

this is very unlikely due to a lack of international attention on football. Whether it is football or

basketball, student athletes leave college to try to play professionally for the same reason -

money.

Money is a very important factor in any decision made. Nothing is different with college

sports. In a personal interview with Darby Schwarz, a former University of Louisville Women’s

Soccer Player, she revealed the mindset and life of a college athlete. When asked if she knew any

athletes who left early to play professional sports, Schwarz responded, “Yes, many of my

football and basketball friends left before graduating to play professionally. Often times they had

family relying on them to make money and they needed to support them sooner rather than

later.” Although some of these athletes want money to live a luxurious life, others simply need

the money so their families can get by and survive. The article “First in Their Family” on the

NCAA website lists facts of first generation students to attend college who also play a sport. It is

reported that neither parent attended college for 16% of college athletes (“First in Their

Family”). Although not always the case, if neither parent went to college, the family is more
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likely to struggle financially. Of these first generation students who play sports, 26% of their

families have expected them to play professionally since they were little (“First in Their

Family”). These families most likely needed the money that comes with playing professional

sports. The athletes feel the pressure like Schwarz mentioned and give up college eligibility, and

their education, to play professionally and support their families. One could only assume that if

the players were compensated in college and could help support their families there, then not as

many players would leave college early to play professionally. When players leave college early,

they are giving up education and quite possibly a degree. The more education a person receives,

the better off they are as well as society. Leaving school early to play professionally or not even

going to college in the first place and playing overseas clearly hinders the athlete from receiving

a proper education. Although it is a select few athletes who do leave school early, it is assumed

that all athletes would be compensated the same for reasons discussed later. If the NCAA wants

to keep star athletes longer, they would have to compensate all athletes.

Compensating college athletes would obviously help the student athletes with whatever

they are compensated with. They would also benefit greatly by being able to use their own

likeness. Brian Rosenberg, president of Macalester College, mentions the limitations of current

student athletes in his article “How the N.C.A.A. Cheats Student Athletes” posted to The New

York Times. “Our school is fortunate to have as a student a young man (whose name I can’t

mention) who has published a book (whose title I can’t cite). The book has nothing whatsoever

to do with athletics, but among his many activities at the college, he participates in an

intercollegiate sport (which, of course, shall remain unspecified)” (Rosenberg). Because

Rosenberg mentioned the student plays a sport, he is unable to mention the title of the book or

the author without the player facing punishment from the NCAA. This scenario is an example of
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the NCAA bylaw 12.5.1.3 (Rosenberg). Essentially, the bylaw states that a student athlete cannot

promote something if he/she mentions he/she plays a sport or if the student athlete mentions their

name. Rosenberg mentions other instances where student athletes were threatened with

ineligibility such as two University of Iowa swimmers who started a shirt screening business, but

their website mentioned they were swimmers or a Texas A&M student athlete who started a

water bottle company and promoted it online. These are three examples of student athletes

exploring opportunities outside of sports and school, but being limited by the NCAA. The

NCAA does not allow them to use their likeness now to prevent star athletes from making large

sums of money. However, if the student athletes were compensated, they would become

employees, sign a contract, and thus be able to use their likeness. The ideal American college

education is described when Rosenberg writes, “We want students to have multiple interests,

multiple facets to their personal and academic lives, and to explore openly how those various

identities play out.” Compensating student athletes which would allow them to use their likeness

would fit what Rosenberg describes as the ideal American college education. Student athletes

would be able to have multiple interests and learn about the world through their own

experiences. Having multiple interests is always good and there is no argument that student

athletes having interests outside of sports is a bad thing. Being able to use their own likeness

would be a huge benefit for the athletes, and the NCAA would be represented by students with

many interests.

In the past few years, the NCAA has been consumed with scandals of schools or

companies paying high school athletes to attend certain colleges. The apparel companies want

the athlete to attend a school that they sponsor so they can market the player. A college or

university wants the best players to have a good team, but also to market the players. Paying
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athletes to attend a school is becoming much more prominent. As reported by Gale, the FBI has

started to investigate corruption in college sports (“Compensation for College Athletes”). The

Federal Bureau of Investigation is getting involved in college sports. That is the extent to which

the corruption is occuring. When Darby Schwarz, a former Louisville Women’s Soccer Player,

was asked the biggest advantage to paying college athletes, she said it would eliminate the

corruption engulfing college sports because everything would be more visible (Schwarz). It is

clear the corruption is prominent in college sports. It is not just a few schools, but many schools.

Recently, Coach Wade of LSU has been accused of offering to pay a recruit to attend LSU.

Coach Miller of Arizona has also been accused of paying recruits. These are just a few examples.

Schwarz mentions how some other athletes at the University of Louisville were either paid or

their families received housing or cars. She did not mention names, for the athletes were able to

get away with it. Some schools and athletes are able to get away with pay-to-play, others are not.

If the athletes were compensated, these scandals would not occur and recruiting would be more

fair.

One prominent example of this paying-to-play is former Auburn Heisman winner and

current NFL quarterback Cam Newton. Before committing to play for Auburn, Cam’s father,

Cecil Newton, conspired with Kenny Rogers to receive money for Cam’s commitment; the two

asked Mississippi State University for $120,000- $180,000 (Associated Press). Cam had no idea

of the actions by his father and Rogers, but was still deemed ineligible. Auburn fought on behalf

of Cam and won back his eligibility a day later. Even though Cam did not know about the money

and did not even commit to Mississippi State University, the offer was still there. This scandal

not only shows the illegal activity that already occurs, but it also shows a promising athlete

whose career was almost ruined by a need for money by his father. Whether Cecil Newton
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needed the money to get by or was just greedy is unknown. It still goes to show that if a family

member needs the money, they could influence the athlete to go to a specific school.

Compensating the athletes would prevent family members or the athletes themself from having

to illegally get paid. On top of eliminating the scandals that eliminate many careers, putting the

compensation of college athletes in the open would make things more fair and easier for the

NCAA to control.

Some people say compensating athletes would hurt the athletes in the long run. They

believe these young student athletes do not know how to make financially smart decisions. As

previously mentioned, 16% of college athletes are the first ones in their family to go to college

(The First in Their Family). The family of these players need the compensation and the player

will likely use the money to support his or her family. Since the NCAA would no longer be an

amateur league, the players could hire agents. An agent is someone who represents the players

and helps make financial decisions. Not all the athletes would make smart financial decisions.

Some players would blow through the compensation, but the vast majority, with the help of

family and a potential agent, would make smart decisions. Believing compensating college

athletes would hurt them in the future is a fallacy.

Also, this essay is not specifying ways of compensating athletes or how much. With that

being said, many college students also have full-time or part-time jobs. They are being paid for

the work. There are no complaints that these students with jobs will make poor financial

decisions. They are putting the time and effort into earning an income. They should be able to do

what they want with that money. Similar to these employees, athletes would be putting in the

time and effort to be compensated. Saying student athletes would not make smart financial

decisions even though other students who have jobs are getting paid is a bias or judgement
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against those athletes. The argument that student athletes would not make smart financial

decisions is a misconception, for many athlete’s families need the money and there are other

college students who make an income and no one thinks twice about it.

The major obstacle of compensating college athletes is the definition of amateurism. As

previously mentioned, the NCAA was founded on amateurism; amateurism does not allow the

payment of the participants (Cooke 6). If the college athletes were to be compensated, the

foundations of the NCAA that have been around for 113 years would have to change. These

changes would alter the NCAA and force new rules to be written. It is similar to the United

States Constitution that is always being debated. The constitution was written many years ago

and times have changed. Does that mean the original Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments)

should change with the times or stay how the Founding Fathers originally wrote them? The

NCAA was established on amateurism many years ago. There were no televisions and the

NCAA was not nearly the corporation and business that it is today. College sports have become

very profitable. Should the NCAA change its foundations as it becomes more profitable and

allow the athletes to be compensated, or should the NCAA stick to its foundations of

amateurism?

On top of the NCAA being based on amateurism, Title IX of the Education Amendments

Act of 1972 also poses a problem. The law requires any school that receives federal funding

must spend that money equally between male and female programs. If athletes were to be

compensated, male and female athletes would have to be compensated equally (“Compensation

for College Athletes”). This poses a problem because men’s basketball and football are the sports

that generate the vast majority of profits. The compensation would have to be equal between

males and females. This poses the question as to whether to get rid of the amendment or
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compensate all athletes- male or female- equally. One thing that would allow one student athlete

to make more money than another one is the player’s likeness. A star football player would make

more money off his likeness than a swimmer from a division three school. If the NCAA does

compensate athletes, Title IX would be a major topic of debate.

Compensating student athletes will continue to be a heated topic of debate. Whatever is

decided, there will be people very happy and very unhappy with the decision. There would be

many details and specific that would need to be worked out. As an athlete and sports fan myself,

I will continue to monitor the situation. Compensating student athletes in college bring

advantages such as athletes staying in college for a longer time, the NCAA being able to make a

video game, athletes being able to support their families, athletes being able to use their likeness,

and fewer scandals, but the foundations of the NCAA on amateurism and Title IX are problems

that would need addressed.

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Works Cited

Associated Press. “Auburn Releases Cam Newton Docs.” ESPN, ESPN Internet Ventures, 5

Nov.

2011, www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/7190987/auburn-tigers-records-reveal-

deta

Ils-cam-newton-scandal. Accessed 12 March 2019.

"Compensation for College Athletes." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/XOHCYL235319839/

OVI

C?u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=c3d8bd37. Accessed 28 Feb. 2019.

Cooke, Justen. “The Issue of Compensation: Should NCAA Athletes be Compensated Above

Their Scholarships.” 29 November 2018. Liberty University, Senior Honors Thesis.

digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1882&context=honors.

Groves, Roger. “EA Sports Will Still Score Even More Financial Touchdowns Without The

NCAA.” Forbes.com, Forbes, 28 Sept. 2013,

www.forbes.com/sites/rogergroves/2013/09/28/ea-sports-will-still-score-even-more-finan

cial-touchdowns-without-the-ncaa/#ef610dc554a6. Accessed 12 March 2019.

Hyde, Chris. Terrance Ferguson playing in a game for the Adelaide 36ers. Sbnation, Getty

Images, 22 June 2017, https://www.sbnation.com/nba/2017/6/22/15838226/who-is-

terranc

e-fergus on-nba-draft-picks-2017. Accessed on 30 Mar. 2019.

Rosenberg, Brian. “How the N.C.A.A. Cheats Student Athletes.” The New York Times, 3 Oct.

2017. Accessed 1 March 2019.

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“The First in Their Family.” NCAA.org, NCAA, 16 June 2016, www.ncaa.org/about/resources/r

ese arch/first-their-family. Accessed 12 March 2019.

Schwarz, Darby. Personal Interview. 11 March 2019.

Turvy, Jimmy. Personal Interview. 10 March 2019.