Should Athletes Be Paid Draft 2: Jake Goodin

Should Athletes Be Paid

            Think of your favorite college athlete right now. Now imagine that player in which millions of people watch every week on national television living under the poverty line. All of the people around them including coaches, referees, announcers, and coordinators are being paid to do what they do for their college, yet the very people who make up the sport are living below the poverty line. College universities and staff members are making all of their money off of these student athletes. Colleges are making money off of ticket sales, athletic wear, and national competition success, but yet the people doing all the work for their colleges are not being rewarded. Although college athletes are given scholarships to receive a college education but because athletics take up all of their time they do not have time to get a job and make money. College athletes should receive a cut of the success that they bring to their program.

            According to SportingNews.com, “86% of college student athletes live below the poverty line.” (Hayes par.1). This number is high considering these people are making millions for their respective colleges. Although most college students are considered to be living below the poverty line it is different for athletes. Sure they receive top of the line coaching in their sports, free tuition, and free tutoring, they still do not have the opportunity to make money outside of school and athletics. For college students, athletics and academics takes up all the time in the day which does not leave much time for a job.

            “The average out of pocket expenses for each full scholarship athlete was approximately 3,222 per year during the 2010-11 school year.” (Hayes par.2). College athletes have school paid for and their athletic expenses paid for, but what about their spending expenses. For the college athletes who came from a poor background, this expense is difficult to overcome. When these families cannot help pay for their college expenses then this debt becomes the students’ burden.

            Currently the NCAA bans any athlete to make money off of their respective sports. Whether it be from weekly play or endorsements. A way to appease college athletes on the subject of salaries is to let them accept endorsements from corporations. Obviously this won’t please everyone because not every college athlete will be making money. This will only please the athletes at the top of their sports who have the highest chance of making it big and leading a life of a professional athlete.

            The college athletes are valuable to their schools and they know it. They know that they make the school hundreds of thousands of dollars. Just think about Johnny Manziel. He was accused of recieving 7,500 dollars for signing approximately 300 miniature football helmets (Schad par.1). These athletes are stars and celebrities in real life and they know it. They are becoming impatient with the NCAA on this topic. Familiar scandals have come up with other big name stars. Georgia running back Todd Gurley and Florida State Quarterback Jameis Winston who are both Heisman Candidates were accused of trading signatures for money (Floyd par.2-3). Because players have become antsy on the matter, many teams have considered forming a union to get players to unite in the cause.  “In a historic vote, Northwestern football players cast secret ballots Friday on whether to form the nation's first union for college athletes -- a decision that could change the landscape of American amateur sports.” (Munson par.1). Northwestern have already begun to vote on the issue. We have never seen the players act this way toward receiving salaries.  It has been debated but never as widely as it has been now.

            This recent uproar in the college football world is not one the NCAA can just shrug off. This is a new age we are living in, with minimum wage increasing about every year, the world understands that money is life or death. Some of these athletes only have time for schoolwork and athletics. They do not have enough time to receive any other income to support them-selves financially. College sports are a multi-million dollar business and the very foundation of the empire is living below the poverty line. There is plenty of wealth to be spread around. Nick Saban, Alabama’s Football Coach, is the highest paid college coach at 6.9 million a year (Vint par.1), while his players who make him all of his money do not have an opportunity to make a little cash to support themselves. The world is changing, and college athletics needs to change with it.

Bibliography

Floyd, Brian. "Stop Chasing College Football Autograph Scandals."SBNation.com. N.p., 14 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Hayes, Matt. "Report Concludes 86 Percent of Student Athletes Live in Poverty." Sporting News. N.p., 16 Jan. 2013. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.

Munson, Lester. "NU Players Cast Secret ballots." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 26 Apr. 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Schad, Joe. "Broker Says Manziel Was Paid $7,500." ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures, 07 Aug. 2013. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Vint, Patrick. "12 Ways of Understanding Nick Saban's New $7 Million Salary." SBNation.com. N.p., 3 June 2014. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.