Issue Exploration: Should College Athletes Be Paid?

Brandon Williams

11/23/2014

Issue Exploration: Should college athletes be paid?

In 2008 the top five grossing universities in the nation received a combined total of

$568,209,324 in athletic revenue. After the universities paid for all expenses such as athlete’s tuition, coach’s pay, recruiting, etc. these five universities’ total profit was only $20,295,378 this money goes straight back into athletics. That money would also be what the universities would use to pay thousands of student athletes if they treated them as employees. So should athletes be given some form of compensation for there work? Earlier this year the University of

Georgia’s star tailback Todd Gurley was suspended four games and given 40 hours of community service by the NCAA for taking money from a fan during an autograph signing. Andy

Staples of Sports Illustrated was quoted as saying “Taking part in community service is fine and good, but attached to this ruling it looks like a criminal sentence. And what crime did Gurley commit? Did he hurt anyone? No. Did he steal from anyone? No. Gurley accepted money because his extraordinary ability in a certain field makes his signature very valuable. Anywhere else, that’s called free enterprise. In major college athletics, it means he generates the same number of negative headlines as someone who robs a store or beats up his girlfriend.” Gurley was the nation’s top running back and a Heisman trophy candidate at the time of his suspension. He is now all but out of contention for the Heisman which could affect his draft stock going into the NFL which could consequently effect the rest of his professional career. The

NCAA only allows coaches to have 20 hours of practice a week. On average college athletes are practicing 40+ hours a week with less than 38 hours spent in the classroom by pure time spent on each one does that make them athletes or students first? The majority of students from division I, II, and III athletes wish they had less time in the gym and more time in the classroom.

70% of division 1 athletes consider themselves athletes first and students second.

College athletes should receive compensation for their on-field prowess.

Top tier athletes such as Johnny Manziel (Quarterback, Texas A&M and 2012 Heisman Trophy winner), Jameis Winston (Quarterback, Florida State and 2013 Heisman Trophy winner), and

Marcus Mariota (Quarterback, Oregon and #1 2014 Heisman Trophy contender), created large amounts of revenue for their respective universities. These athletes don’t see anything from the sales they are generating even on their jerseys which bear their numbers but omit there names.

College athletes already receive compensation through scholarships. On Average an athletic scholarship is worth about $100,000 over four years. The fact that they are students first and athletes second hence the name student athlete is a testament to the fact that they already receive compensation through their scholarship and don’t need further compensation. If universities gave athletes on scholarships a salary they in turn would have to give all students with scholarships salaries. If athletes were given salaries it would create bidding wars during recruiting and the top tier athletes would be gobbled up by the universities with the most money instead of them choosing the school based on academics and heritage.

College athletes should be able to receive endorsement deals.

Jeremy Bloom was a student athlete at the University of Colorado. Bloom played receiver for

Colorado, he was Freshman All-American in 2002 but in addition to being a superb football player Bloom was a very talented mogul skier. Bloom received many endorsements and sponsorships as a world cup champion and an Olympian. The National Collegiate Athletic

Association (NCAA) ruled Bloom had violated it’s rules on college athletes having their own endorsement deals and they banned him from playing football. collegiate athletes cannot receive any compensation for their very own name without the NCAA cracking down on them even if it has nothing to do with their college sport.

College athletes should be allowed to unionize. Northwestern University was granted permission to vote to have their football team be able to unionize. A union is an organized group of workers who collectively use their strength to have a voice in their workplace. Through a union, workers have a right to impact wages, work hours, benefits, workplace health and safety, job training and other work-related issues. Most athletes that play sports for universities are not there to attain an education, they are there to provide entertainment on the behalf of the university which makes millions of dollars off these “student athletes” and they don’t see any of it. In 2008 the university of Texas’ graduation rate for their football team was only 2 out of every

5 athletes graduated (Palaima). This is not always the fault of the athlete a lot of this falls on the university to provide better care of their student athletes. If the athletes were allowed to unionize they would be able to lobby for better health coverage, four year scholarships, endorsements, etc.

In conclusion I want college athletes to be able to make money from endorsements especially jersey sales. I like the idea of a union so the athletes can lobby for better treatment and better healthcare. Also I would love to see them have four year scholarships instead of one year, it creates stability and it makes colleges have to be diligent in recruiting.

Work cited  Anderson, Shelly. "College Athletes Should Be Allowed To Have Their Own Endorsement Deals."

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue.

Rpt. from "Anderson: NCAA Rules Too Thorny for Bloom." Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 13 Oct. 2005.

Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

 Meshefejian, Krikor. "Pay to Play: Should College Athletes Be Paid?" The Journal of the Business

Law Society (23 Mar. 2005). Rpt. in Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit:

Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

 National College Players Association (NCPA). "College Athletes Should Receive a Scholarship

Raise to Cover Necessities." Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit:

Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Rpt. from "CAC Mission & Goals." 2007. Opposing Viewpoints

in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

 Palaima, Tom. "College Athletes Should Be Paid as Schools Neglect Their Academic Interests."

Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue.

Rpt. from "College Athletes Often Are Losers When It Comes to Academics." Austin American-

Statesman 16 Nov. 2006. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.  Porto, Brian L. "Paid College Athletes Won't Be Tempted to Accept Illegal Payments or Gamble."

A New Season: Using Title IX to Reform College Sports. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2003.

Rpt. in Should College Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At

Issue. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

 Staudohar, Paul D., and Barry Zeppel. "College Athletes Should Be Allowed to Unionize."

Economics of College Sports. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 2004. Rpt. in Should College

Athletes Be Paid? Ed. Geoff Griffin. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. At Issue. Opposing

Viewpoints in Context. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

 Staples, Andy. "Todd Gurley suspension ruling shows major problems with NCAA's system."

Sports Illustrated (2014).Web. 23 Nov. 2014.