Should College Athletes Be Paid?

It is one of the most disputed topics in college sports. Should college athletes be paid? No, athletes should not be paid in college.

If they are not satisfied, there should be a way for athletes to go into a sports club or minor league system, where they could be paid, and universities could give the education to those who truly care about it. This also would give larger universities that bring in more money an unfair scouting advantage of offering more money than those smaller schools who will may only be able to offer a very small amount.

            The fact that many athletes are already on scholarships shows that they are already making more than the common student. Most students don’t receive even one scholarship from the school. Some students work every day just so they can eat, because they don’t have enough money. These students may start to resent their athletic peers should they be paid.

            The NCAA has said that “if college athletes were to start being paid, many schools would leave Division I sports” (Ganim, par. 1). Furthermore, “the universities that stayed in Division I sports would have to start cutting other, less popular sports to be able to afford the salaries” (Ganim, par. 2). Many of the athletes would also be left with nothing to do and may even be forced to transfer to another school to continue moving on in their respective sports.

            If athletes were to be paid, then the game may seem to be more about money and greed, rather than the love of playing the sport. Again Mark Emmert of the NCAA states “if amateurism goes away, so will the games as we know them now” (Ganim, par. 8). He goes on to mention that many schools lose money on the sports but they keep them for social cohesion, most likely among students who love to watch their respective teams play.

            As you can see there are many reasons as to why athletes should not be paid in college sports. Many will still argue this topic long after it is truly settled, but college athletes should not be paid. That is unless there is a way for all schools to have a fair shot at bringing in athletes by paying them.