Scholarships are Enough: Why Athletes in the NCAA Should Not Be Compensated Financially More Than They Already Are For Their Efforts
As a rabid fan of college sports, especially college football and basketball, I am familiar with the question as to whether or not the athletes competing should receive salaries. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is the organization who gains the most from the two aforementioned sports, reeling in over $800 million per year. The organization is a non-profit, therefore the money they make goes back into the colleges and universities in the organization in the form of academic enhancements, student assistance funds, and athletic scholarships, just to name a few.
The idea that the NCAA cashes in major checks each year and gives portions of them to their member schools makes one believe that the schools should have more than enough money laying around to pay their players. However, they don’t have as much money as one would think. They use most of the money given to them from the NCAA to the student-athletes in the form of scholarships, worth up to $50,000 per year. These scholarships cover “just about everything a student-athlete needs to survive for four years at a major university: campus housing, daily medical care, free meals, tuition and books.” Furthermore, the benefits that are given to the student-athletes that not even walk-ons have to pay for are endless: travel expenses, free gear, top-notch coaching, unlimited use of elite athletic facilities, and a national stage to audition for a job in the professional ranks. Combine these two facts, and according to Bleacher Report, “Many college athletes are being reimbursed with nearly as much money as the average American makes per year.” Collegiate athletes are not only being given enough money to live their lives for their four years on campus, they are being given more than a working American. Critics who state that they are working Americans and should thus be given an American worker’s wage are not aware of the fact that with their athletic scholarship plus benefits, they are already given more than a necessary wage.
In recent years, the NCAA has stood beside their view that student-athletes are student first and by paying them, they would spend less of their time on what is really important and what will really impact their future: education. It is true that many studies have shown that student-athletes are already preoccupied enough with their sport that paying them would simply compensate them for the sacrifices they make. However, for the vast majority of these athletes, sports are not going to be their profession. By paying these student-athletes, all the NCAA would be doing is encouraging them not to focus on their studies and for them to be separated with what should be priority number one.
If the small percentage of athletes who will be going pro want to earn money right away, there are plenty of options for them other than college. For example, in 2008, Brandon Jennings was the number one overall basketball prospect in the country. Instead of attending college, he opted to sign a $1.2 million deal with a professional team in Italy. He was eventually drafted 10th by the Milwaukee Bucks a season later. If an individual does want to get paid immediately, there are other options out there rather than going to school.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut has recently discussed this issue and has taken a strong stance on it. “College basketball and football have become a multibillion dollar industry where everyone’s getting rich except the students actually doing the work. Frankly, it’s a civil rights issue that no one is talking about,” Murphy recently said. Absolutely everything about his argument is false. While it is true that college basketball and football are extremely profitable, the organization that hosts them is not. The losses that incur from other sports make it so that the NCAA can only give out money to the conferences, and most of those conferences only get a very small amount of money. That money already goes to the players in the form of scholarships, as I have stated previously, therefore the players are getting just as “rich” as the NCAA officials.
This issue is not only vital for the well being of the students and their futures, it is important for an everyday American to be knowledgeable about the situation and support the student-athletes for being students first. Every year, thousands of so-called students squander their college education away half-paying attention in their classes and just getting by while devoting their entire lives to a sport which they most likely will not be involved in after college. These athletes are taking scholarships and opportunities away from people who will take their college education seriously and impact society in a better way going forward. If we pay college athletes, even more opportunities for a college education will be wasted on athletes who don’t spend any time on their studies or their futures and those who will use their college education effectively won’t have the opportunity to.
Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest not only to stay away from paying collegiate student-athletes, but attempt to focus their efforts more on the educational aspect of college, where it should be. After all, the schools consider themselves educational institutions.
