College Athletes getting Paid? A Counterargument

The major trend in college athletics these days seems to be moving toward paying the athletes.  The controversy of athletes working so hard on and off the field and not receiving a payment for it has caused quite the uproar in the sporting world.  But this trend is not without an opposite side.  The traditional NCAA model has always been that athletes receive a full academic scholarship and are not allowed to receive any outside payment.  Many people within the sporting world would still like to see this model continue, even with all of the controversy that comes along with these policies.

The reasoning of traditionalists when it comes to the argument of payment in college athletics is usually rather simple-they want to see that amateurism remains prevalent.  What is amateurism? Amateurism means that the athletes are not paid for what they do.  This contrasts with the idea of professional sports, where athletes are paid a yearly salary, similar to any other job.  Keeping outside payment out of the hands of athletes keeps amateurism in check.  This is beneficial for many reasons.  A main reason has to do with schools being able to influence recruits using money.  If athletes become enabled to receive payment from other sources besides their academic scholarship, schools could use benefactors to influence an athlete's college choice using money.  Endorsement deals are another issue.  NCAA rules currently prohibit college athletes from signing any types of endorsement deals, and are not allowed to make money off of their own name.  If college athletes are allowed to sign deals with companies like Nike or Adidas, these brands could use their wealth to influence athletes to attend a school with the company's branding rights.  All of these reasons are why many still firmly believe that college athletes should not be paid.

So what does this counter argument mean for college athletics?  Obviously, the big business and money making mentality of the NCAA would like their current model to stay true.  The current athlete model where athletes are not paid keeps the money in the pockets of the NCAA.  Officials for the association have continuously commented that they still firmly believe in this concept of amateurism and do not want to see athletes being paid.  I believe that even though payment for college athletics could lead to the possible corruption that was mentioned earlier, the trend of a new model is going to end up pushing through.  The media has spoken their word and the fans, including myself, mostly seem to be on board with this idea of college athletes getting paid.  The pros completely outweigh the cons, and it is time athletes start getting the money that they work their butts off to earn.  There would be no money in college athletics if it weren't for the players, so how can it possibly make sense that the athletes don't receive that money?  This is why the argument that college athletes should be paid seems to be trumping the opposite viewpoint, and I believe that will continue to be the case for the foreseeable future.